Some time back I said that emergency preparedness would be a future post and maybe now is the time, with 2/3 of the country having extreme winter weather.
What you have to prepare for:
1. Precipitation you're not used to.
2. Temperatures you're not used to.
3. Power outages.
4. Water mains breaking.
5. Road closures.
Let's take the last one first. My brother once said one reason for the massive traffic jams in the DC metro area was that people learn only one way to get to work. They don't know anything about other roads in the area and if -- what am I saying, WHEN!!! -- their normal route gets shut down, they have nowhere else to go even if they're near an exit.
Now, I know 21st century cars tend to have GPS, but I also know of cases where GPS got people lost and they had to call me, tell me where they were, and then follow my personal turn by turn instructions to get where they were going.
And I know that everybody but me has a cell phone with Siri or something, but the law against distracted driving as written in my state says IF YOU ARE IN THE ROADBED you are not allowed to be texting or talking on that cell phone. You have to pull onto the shoulder or exit the road where you are and find a parking space before you can use Siri or whatever.
And typically in the DC metro area, there's a traffic jam when there's been a wreck and the emergency equipment needs the shoulder to get to the wreck and save lives, so you do not want to pull onto the shoulder.
SO. When you have days off, get on your computer with some map software, find those alternate routes, and drive them so you know what they look like.
© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights Reserved
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