Five Great Tutorials for Roadside Emergencies

Everyone has a chance of experiencing driving emergencies no matter how good of a driver they may be. This is because mistakes are bound to occur when people are in a hurry, or due to inclement weather, or even just because we have to share the road with others. When they occur, it is best to think ahead instead of apportioning blames or finding faults. Some of the common roadside emergencies people find difficult to cope with are: changing a flat tire, starting a dead car with or without cables, unlocking a car without keys and finding help when out of gas.

How to change a tire

Changing a tire is not as difficult as most new car owners think. The first thing to do when a flat tire is noticed is to park the car to the side of the road to avoid distraction and provide space to do the work. While re-parking the car, choosing a level ground will be ideal. The next thing to do is retrieve all the tools needed from the trunk. The basic necessities include a spare tire, tire blocks (to prevent the car from rolling), gloves (to avoid dirt and grease) and the jack. The next step is to remove the hubcap and loosen the nuts. The nuts can be loosened by turning counterclockwise. After this, the jack is positioned under the car to have contact with the frame of the vehicle. It is then pumped or cranked to raise the car to a height of about 6 inches so that the tire can be conveniently removed or replaced. After replacing, the nuts are tightened softly while the car is still supported by the jack so that the tire does not lose its position while lowering the car. Finally, after the car has been lowered and the jack taken away, the nuts are tightened again with a greater force this time. Tighten the nuts in the order as if you are drawing a star. This prevents the nuts that are already tightened from loosening.

How to jump start a car with cables

The need to jump start a car happens when the battery is dead. To prevent this from happening often, car users should use their batteries wisely. For instance, it is unwise to play music for several hours a day before a long journey is to be made. A battery can be confirmed dead if the car gives no noise on turning the ignition. The things that will be needed in doing this include jumper cables, a running car, safety glasses and wire brush for cleaning the connections. The two cars are placed close to each other so that the jumper cables can reach the two batteries. Before connecting the jumper cables, the engines of the two cars have to be turned off. The connection begins by linking one of the red cable jaws to the positive side of the good battery and the other red cable jaw to the positive end of the dead battery. Next, one of the black cable jaws is connected to the negative terminal of the good battery and the other end of the black cable jaw is attached to a clean metal surface of the car with the dead battery. The clean surface should be unpainted such as the head of a bolt. After the connections are made, the car with the good battery is started and allowed to run for about five minutes to build up some charge in the dead battery. Once the dead battery accumulates a little charge, the next step should be disconnecting the cables. The cables should be disconnected in the following order: the black cable jaw attached to the surface of the car with the dead battery followed by the black cable jaw on the negative terminal of the good battery. Next, the red cable jaw on the positive terminal of the good battery should be removed, followed by the red cable jaw on the positive terminal of the bad battery. It is important to ensure that the red and black cables should not touch each other when they are still connected. If the battery is the only problem with the vehicle, it should then work.

How to jump start a car without cables

To jump start a car without cables, the car has to be parked at a height and on an incline where it will be possible for it to roll. After re-parking, the driver gets in to release the hand and foot brakes. The clutch is then pushed down to make the car start rolling. When the car is at a speed of about 5 miles per hour, the ignition is turned on while the clutch still remains down. Another way this can work is by releasing the clutch and accelerator into gear two while the car keeps rolling with the ignition on.

What to do when you run out of gas

When the gas of a moving car gets exhausted in the middle of the road, the first thing to do is park the car to a safe side of the road. Hazard lights should be turned on especially if this occurs at night. The next thing to do is to make a call for the support of road assistance, any relation or a local towing service. It is also possible to get help by asking people nearby for the nearest gas station. To avoid this from happening next time, it is important to buy a gallon for storing gas in the car in case of any emergency.

What to do when you lock your keys in your car

Having a car key locked inside the car can be both embarrassing and devastating to one’s day. However, the challenge involved can be avoided by having a spare key around. If there is no spare key available, the next best step should be calling the police to help with their car unlocking equipment. If this option is not available and the car has a tapered lock button, then a hanger cut to form a hook of width 3/8 inch will be able to do the trick. The hanger should be fixed between the door and the body of the car to locate the unlock button in the car to pull it up. It may take several tries to be successful in this.

A careful look at these tutorials for roadside emergencies will reveal that it is possible to still be on time when the worst occurs. Getting acquainted with these will help the car owner also save a lot of money.