Photo By: Adam Paul McGlothlin…Who rescues the rescuers?

Just a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta, Georgia an unexpected blast of cold weather, snow and ice hit the city causing a massive gridlock on major highways. Temperatures reached below freezing and many people were forced to spend the night in their cars. Even a bus full of children was forced to sleep in the bus in freezing temperatures.

A lot of this could have been protected had drivers paid closer attention to the news and if the governor would have taken stronger precautions, but at the end of the day it’s not about whose fault it is, everyone needs to plan and prepare for themselves. Only you can be held fully responsible for yourself. So here are some tips for keeping warm in freezing temperatures should you find yourself stranded in your car on a grid locked highway or in a similar situation.

Winter Survival Kit

You should create a winter survival kit for your car and keep it stored in your trunk. This kit should be created with overnight survival in mind. You don’t need a lot, just items to help get you through a cold night.

Items for your winter survival kit:

• Wool blankets
• First aid kit
• Boots, gloves and extra jacket
• Light source
• Cat litter
• Food and water (Protein bars, dried fruit, nuts etc.)
• Small shovel

Cat Litter?

Most things on the list above make perfect sense and are pretty practical, but I’m sure once you read “cat litter” you looked twice and read it again. It’s not a misprint. Cat litter can be used for helping to get a car un-stuck from an icy or snowy situation.

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If you find that your car is stuck in ice or snow then grab the cat litter from your kit and pour some behind and around the wheels of your car (before you pour the cat litter take the shovel and scoop as much snow away from your wheels as possible). The wheels will grab hold of the litter and you will have the traction you need to get moving. This doesn’t always work, but often times it can get you moving if the conditions aren’t too severe.

Stay Warm

If you found that you are stuck and too far from your home to walk back then you’ll need to stay warm where you are. The best thing you can do is to stay in your car, grab some blankets and change out of any wet clothes.  Even if your car is turned off and cold at the very least you are shielded from the wind, snow and ice.

Body heat is a great source of heat as well, so if you are with a pal it’s time to get over any shyness. Don’t hesitate to cuddle up and share a blanket. It could save both lives.

The idea is to be always prepared for what might happen. No one in Georgia was expecting to spend the night in their car, nor were they prepared.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

 Henry Hernandez is a veteran who knows a lot about survival in harsh conditions. Henry also does marketing for a company that makes underground bunkers, http://www.risingsbunkers.com/. Henry can be found on Google+.