Life-threatening situations happen in every corner of America, in all types of conditions, in remote areas and metropolitan areas, in all types of weather.
As a former CIA officer, it’s my business to be prepared to handle life-threatening situations. And I take my responsibility to protect my wife and three children very seriously.
While violent crimes grab most of the headlines, few people realize you’re much more likely to find yourself stranded on the side of the road than you are to be murdered, raped, robbed or assaulted.
Over 30 MILLION Americans find themselves stranded on the road in their cars each and every year. That’s more than 25 times the number of victims of violent crimes.
Every time you drive, you are operating in a dangerous environment. It’s not just in blizzards or cold weather climates, either. You could be stuck in the desert or on a desolate stretch of highway.
No matter where you are — from the blizzards of Buffalo to the deserts of California or the flash floods of the southeast — when you are behind the wheel of a car, your life is on the line.
In fact, more than one out of every six licensed drivers will be stranded on the road this year. So it’s almost certain you, your spouse, a child, a sibling, a parent or a close friend will be stranded on the road at some point in the next 12 months.
Sadly, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of helpless, stranded motorists die needlessly each year because they’re unprepared. That’s why I’ve personally designed the Roadside Emergency Survival & Catastrophe Universal Escape (R.E.S.C.U.E.) Pack. It’s the simple solution my wife and I have in our cars at all times that could literally save our life one day.
I’ve made it my personal mission to help prepare people like you for unexpected situations that could put your life in danger.
If you’re serious about doing everything you possibly can to protect your family in an emergency situation, this may be the most important message you’ll ever see.
You’ve taken a wise first step to protect yourself and your loved ones from an unfortunate tragedy that needlessly claims a number of lives each year.
Your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack makes you prepared for nearly any situation you could encounter. However, there are a few common mistakes you need to avoid in an emergency roadside situation.
Making these mistakes has cost thousands of stranded motorists their life. Which is why I’ve outlined them for you here — so you know exactly what 10 Fatal Mistakes to Avoid:
1. Leaving Your Car
Many people think that the best thing to do while stranded in your car is to get out and look for help. But this couldn’t be more dangerous.
Your vehicle is your best protection against the elements, like sun, wind and exposure. The best thing you can do is remain in your vehicle, where rescuers are most likely to find you.
The Los Angeles Times reported a story in August 2016 of what they said appeared to be “the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley National Park” that year.
Las Vegas resident Linda Pi-Wei Hung was on her way to Fort Irwin. After not being heard from for a few days, county and federal search teams used two helicopters and scoured the desert looking for a sign.
Hours later, Hung’s vehicle was found along a lonely dirt road. It’s been speculated that Hung’s vehicle got stuck in the sand, so she left her vehicle and started walking across the hot desert. Rangers speculate that Hung’s vehicle got stuck in the sand while she was attempting to turn around, so she began walking across the baking desert to find help.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the high that day was 113 degrees, and Hung appeared to have died from heat exposure.
This is just one example of why you should remain with your vehicle.
Johnathan Doerr, a 19-year-old man from Tooele, Utah, went missing in January 2017. Fox 13 News reports the man was on his way to a job interview but was reported missing after he never showed up. His body was found days later about a mile off the highway.
Johnathan’s car was located and appeared to have gotten stuck in the snow. Since he was nowhere to be found, the police speculated that the man had left his vehicle and went to search for help on foot.
According to Fox 13 News, police said it “appears the man died of exposure” to freezing temperatures.
Believe me, it’s much safer to stay inside your car than it is to go exploring outside. “Abandon your car only as a last resort. A single person walking through the snow is much harder to find than a stranded vehicle,” advises Allstate.
2. Your Car Is Not Visible
This is extremely important to remember. If your car isn’t in plain sight, the chances of someone spotting you to help are slim to none.
Husband and wife Cecil Knutson and Dianna Bedwell found that out the hard way. According to The Independent, the pair became lost shortly after leaving a casino while looking for a shortcut to their destination.
The paper goes on to explain how they were ultimately led off the beaten path and became stuck in California’s high desert. The couple, both diabetic, were found by off-road drivers two weeks after they had gone missing. Ms. Bedwell was barely holding on, but still alive. Her husband was not as fortunate.
Ms. Bedwell had informed authorities that she and her husband were looking for a shortcut when they got lost in a rough area, their vehicle hidden by trees and surrounding brush. Police stated that “the trees made the car invisible to helicopters that were conducting aerial searches.”
You need to make sure that your car is as visible as possible.
How can you make your vehicle easy to find?
Remember that piece of bright orange ribbon in your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack? Hang it from your window, or if you can get to your antenna, tie it to that. Any piece of brightly colored cloth or material that is easy to see will suffice in this situation.
If there is no rain or snow in the forecast, you could also open the hood of your car. This is recognized as a universal distress signal and will help to make you and your vehicle more visible.
Your emergency flashers will also be a good way to signal for help. I would recommend that you only turn on them on if you hear any approaching vehicles or movement outside, in an effort to conserve your battery.
If it gets to be dark out and you can run the engine at night, listen again for movement outside and potential rescuers. You might consider turning on the interior lights, as passersby might be able to catch a glimpse of the glow from a considerable distance.
3. Not Knowing Where You’re Going
If you don’t know where you are going, you make yourself much more susceptible to getting lost. And if you are lost, your chances of surviving instantly get worse.
Take another look at the story above. Cecil Knutson and Dianna Bedwell got lost trying to take a shortcut home. Had they been prepared with a map or GPS, they might have seen a different outcome.
ABC News reported a similar situation that happened to James and Kati Kim and their family…
The family was seeking a shortcut when the situation got out of control and took a turn for the worse.
James was driving and had missed a turn due to the snow making it hard to see. At a fork in the road, he failed to see a sign that would point him in the correct direction and then turned the wrong way.
Lost and in bad weather, the family decided to call it a night and try their luck in the morning. They parked the car and fell asleep, only to wake up to more snow and their vehicle now stuck.
The family was stranded for seven days when Mr. Kim decided to leave the vehicle and walk to get help.
Help finally arrived to Mrs. Kim and the two children on day nine. However, Mr. Kim was found two days later, dead in a lake 17 miles from the vehicle. (I want to again stress No. 1 on our list — don’t leave your vehicle.)
Like Cecil Knutson and Dianna Bedwell, the Kims were just looking for a shortcut on their long drive. Their Saab station wagon got stuck in snow on a side road as they tried to find their way.
It’s very important to know where you are going. And if you don’t, be prepared with a map or a GPS navigation system and take the necessary precautions. Don’t use back roads to save time or avoid traffic unless you’re absolutely positive you know where you’re going.
Stay on main roads when you can. This way, if anything happens, more people can spot you. Also, main roads are the first areas that rescue workers will reach in emergencies. Don’t take shortcuts if you don’t know where they lead.
4. Not Having a Backup Battery or Power Source
Nearly everyone has a cellphone these days, which is a great item to keep on you in the case of an emergency. However, a cellphone will only last you so long.
When your battery dies, you will essentially be cut off from any communication with the outside world. You won’t be able to call 911 or text someone for help.
That’s why it’s crucial to have a backup battery or power source.
Lucky for you, your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack includes a universal, lightweight battery charger that will charge any make and model cellphone on the market today.
Just think of the many ways this small device could save you from hours or even days of desperation. You could recharge the battery on your cellphone in just a few minutes.
And even with a small amount of charge, you could call 911. The GPS function on the phone could help rescue workers pinpoint your exact location and dig you out of whatever sticky situation you are in.
Yet with a dead phone and without a way to recharge the battery, you might freeze to death.
And remember, the R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack that you purchased fits inside the cabin of your car. That’s a critical design feature, because if you are, for instance, buried in the snow, you will probably be trapped inside of your car.
Having a battery charger in the trunk won’t be much help, because even if you could dig your way to the trunk, it’s highly unlikely you would be able to open the trunk, considering it will be buried under several feet of wet, heavy snow.
The battery charger alone could help you escape in minutes, instead of hours. And those critical few minutes could easily be the difference between life and death — especially in subzero temperatures.
5. Not Clearing out the Exhaust Pipe
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, poisonous gas that can kill you. So it’s crucial you make sure your car’s engine can breathe properly.
Snowy weather is a prime time when a mistake can be made.
The Associated Press released a story about an eastern Pennsylvanian man who was trapped in his running car by a snowplow deluge. Authorities suspect he was trying to dig out his car and was either taking a break in the car with the motor running or trying to get out of the area when a plow came by and buried the car, thus blocking the exhaust and preventing him from getting out.
The man was pronounced dead less than an hour after he was found. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
If you find yourself stuck in the snow, it’s crucial that you make sure you clean out your tailpipe. However, winter weather is not the only time your exhaust pipe might be blocked.
A story surfaced of five Florida children who were in a truck that was stuck in the mud with smoke billowing inside… the children all unconscious.
WJHG/CNN reported that several hunters were on a hunting trip when they found the truck stuck in a mud hole, the vehicle’s tailpipe covered and the children all poisoned by carbon monoxide.
Luckily, the hunters showed up in time and freed the children and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Aside from being a little shaken up, the children left in good health.
While that story had a happy ending, there are so many more that don’t. The ugly truth is that carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly in as few as five–15 minutes.
If you are ever stranded with your vehicle and the engine is on, make sure your exhaust pipe has a clear path and has room to breathe, or the repercussions could be deadly.
6. Not Having a Blanket or Any Items to Keep You Warm
Freezing cold temperatures can lead to hypothermia — a dangerous condition that can quickly kill you.
So if you are stranded in your car for an extended period in freezing temperatures, you’re going to need something to keep you warm.
I recommend the Mylar blanket in your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack.
This waterproof, heat-reflective blanket is constructed of durable, insulating Mylar — a breakthrough material designed by NASA for space exploration. This high-tech space blanket is thin and flexible and could save your life in an emergency situation.
Mylar helps keep you warm in several ways. First, it stops evaporative heat loss. When your sweat evaporates, it uses energy from your body and lowers your body temperature.
Mylar slows down the process of evaporative heat loss by increasing the humidity of the air next to the skin.
The space blanket also reduces convective heat loss. Cold air or wind causes convective heat loss, and the blanket forms a strong barrier between you and the cold air that lowers your body temperature.
Finally, we lose body heat through radiation — the heat simply radiates off your body. This Mylar blanket keeps you warm by reflecting 90% of your body heat back to you.
Plus, this Mylar space blanket is super-small and lightweight.
And it’s multifunctional, too…
In addition to serving its main purpose as an emergency blanket, it can also be used as emergency shelter by creating a tent or tarp. The material is waterproof, so it will protect you from rain or wet snow.
If you suddenly find yourself trapped in a freak blizzard, you could use it to heat your car by covering the windows of your car to reflect body heat back into the car.
The space blanket can be used to reflect heat either toward you or away from you. If the sun is bearing down on you while you’re stranded, you can cover the windows with the Mylar blanket to reflect heat away from the car to keep you cool.
Because the surface of the Mylar space blanket is so shiny, it also creates an excellent distress signal that’s easily visible to passing motorists and rescue teams and from the sky.
So the Mylar blanket could keep you warm while also signaling for help.
7. Not Having a Distress Signal
In the event you are stranded on the side of the road or stuck in a snowbank, in a flood, etc., you want to ensure that you have something you can use to flag down help or mark your location.
Luckily for you, your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack has several items you can use in a time of need.
For starters, this kit includes a three-foot-long strip of bright orange ribbon to use as a visual distress signal. You could wave it around or tie it to an antenna in the hope that someone will spot you.
Your SEAL Torch 2000 is another tool found in your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack. It’s one of the brightest night-observation and illumination devices available for civilian use.
The flashlight is 11X brighter than a traditional light and is critical at night during a roadside emergency. This incredible tool also has an SOS feature that allows you to send a distress signal that can be seen for miles.
Your R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack also features a three-in-one survival whistle in the event that no one can see your visual distress signals. Three loud whistle blasts is an internationally recognized distress signal. This whistle could attract the attention of someone who could rescue you.
This whistle could make the difference between life and death in any situation where you find yourself trapped in a secluded place where your distress signals cannot be seen.
8. Not Having a Full Tank of Gas
When the weather is bad or you’re driving for extended periods of time, make sure you start with a full tank of gas.
In really hazardous winter weather, the effects of the storm can last several days or more. So the more gas you have the better in case you become stranded.
You’ll need it to help you stay warm, to make sure your fuel lines don’t freeze, to keep your cellphone battery charged and hopefully even to have enough gas left over to leave after the storm, if needed.
You’ll want to run your engine and heater for about 10 minutes every hour to keep you warm while also conserving fuel. I’d also recommend keeping a window cracked while the engine is running to get some fresh air and eliminate the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.
9. Not Having Light
Darkness is extremely dangerous in an emergency roadside situation. Without light, you’ll have a difficult time finding anything after the sun sets.
Another vehicle could collide with your car, causing it to burst into flames. And in the worst-case scenario, you could get run over by an oncoming car whose driver can’t see you.
I recommend keeping a flashlight in the car. The one I recommend is the SEAL Torch 2000.
With its XML-T6 LED bulb, the SEAL Torch 2000 is more than 11 times brighter than a traditional light. This allows you see absolutely everything. And that’s critical at night during a roadside emergency.
The telescoping lens gives you the power to dial in the accuracy for a super-tight, nearly blinding beam. Or you can zoom back and cast a wide net to assess the entire situation.
And the SEAL Torch 2000 is practically indestructible, too. It’s made from super-strong metal designed to take a beating — not some cheap plastic like ordinary flashlights.
This incredible tool also has an SOS feature that allows you to send a distress signal that can be seen for miles. And with its specially designed muzzle edge, you can break your windshield to escape your car if necessary.
The SOS feature could been very valuable to a stranded motorist. You could shine the light of the SEAL Torch 2000, which would definitely stand out in the dark.
And using the SOS feature at night, it’s much more likely someone would see your distress signal and rescue you sooner.
You could even use the SEAL Torch 2000 as a weapon should you encounter anyone who tries to do you harm while you’re stranded on the side of the road.
There simply is no other emergency tool quite like this on the market.
I want you to be completely prepared for anything that could happen during a roadside emergency, and as you can see, this spectacular piece of equipment can save your life in many ways.
10. Not Being Prepared With an Emergency Kit
An emergency kit could save your life. As you can see in the examples above, you could recharge your cellphone, keep yourself warm or signal for help with the Mylar blanket and more.
When it comes to saving your life or the life of a loved one in the event of roadside disaster survival situation, the R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack you’ve purchased is the perfect kit to have on hand.
It’s small, compact, designed to easily fit in the cabin of your car — not in the trunk — and packed with 23 lifesaving items, including:
• A three-foot-long strip of bright orange ribbon to use as a visual distress signal
• A first-aid kit packed with everything you’ll need to take care of small scrapes or even bigger wounds
• Duct tape. After food and water, duct tape is so versatile it could be your most valuable asset in an emergency. Use it as an emergency Band-Aid, to tape broken fingers together, to mark a trail (so you don’t get lost or so a rescue team can find you), to leave notes to help rescue personnel find you and more
• Rain gear in case you’re stuck in a torrential downpour… when you’re wet, your body heat drops more than when you’re dry
• Waterproof matches so you can start a fire in any situation to provide heat or light or to cook food and boil water
• And so much more…
It’s crucial you be prepared with an emergency car kit in the event of an emergency. So whatever situation you find yourself in, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing you’ve got all the equipment you’ll need to survive until help arrives.
Life-threatening situations happen in every corner of America in all types of conditions, in remote areas and metropolitan areas and in all types of weather. And most people are terribly unprepared for even the most common crises.
You can hope and pray that you and your family never find yourself in an emergency roadside situation without the survival equipment and supplies that could save your life. However, hoping is not a good strategy when your life is on the line.
Especially when you know that more than one out of every six American drivers is going to be stranded on the road at some point in the next 12 months.
If you or a family member is suddenly stuck in an emergency roadside situation, you need to have the survival supplies and equipment that could save your life.
The only responsible thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from tragedy is to be prepared for unexpected events like these.
By familiarizing yourself with these 10 fatal mistakes and how to avoid them, and by investing in the R.E.S.C.U.E. Pack, you’ve taken necessary precautions to keep you and your family safe from sudden tragedy and possibly even death.
Stay safe,
Jason Hanson
