You are out for a winter drive and get stranded. What do you do? First, don’t panic. Second, don’t leave your car. If you have a cell phone, call for help. With no phone, and if you fear you will be there a while, hunker down and prepare for a stay till you are found.
Do not run your engine. You may need the fuel later and risk carbon monoxide poisoning by running the engine while surrounded by snow. If you must run your engine, be absolutely sure that the exhaust is not blocked by snow. Even then, next to trying to walk out, running your engine in snow during a survival situation is probably the most dangerous thing you can do.
Bring everything into the car from your trunk: all the mats, any tools, oil, even the spare tire. If there is room for everybody, get in the back seat, and use floor mats, maps or anything you can find as insulation. Huddle together. Loosen clothing and move around to avoid blood flow constriction. Keep your head covered. Keep from getting wet. Avoid use of cigarettes or alcohol as these will reduce the ability of your body to stay warm.
If you are stuck overnight, you might be uncomfortable, but stay put. With first light, think about helping rescuers find you. Smoke is a great signal. There are many ways to start a fire and make smoke. A burning spare tire is perfect. Lay out the spare tire, with oil or anything that will burn on top of it, thirty steps away from the car in an open area. Make sure there is enough fuel to get a hot fire going needed to ignite the tire rubber. Start a fire on top of the tire. Your cigarette lighter or a wire crossed between the positive and negative posts of the battery will help spark a fire. Be sure you don’t burn yourself. If you are there more than one day, you still have four more tires.
If you need fuel, and are very careful, you may be able to get some gas out of your fuel tank. Run a strip of clothing or trunk mat into the fuel tank to get some gasoline. Be sure you don’t get any gasoline on yourself; it will make you cold, you risk igniting it and getting severely burned and fuel fumes are unpleasant, possibly hazardous, in an enclosed space.
Unless your car is white, keep the roof of your car free of snow so it can be seen from the air. Use branches or stomp the snow into a S.O.S signal. Use mirrors to reflect sunlight to flying planes.
Things to have in your car as you plan your trip:
Fresh drinking water.
Food (nuts, dried fruit, energy bars or cans of liquid nourishment).
Waterproof matches and candle.
Flashlight.
Road Flares.
Whistle.
Blankets.
First Aid Kit.
Towel.
Collapsible Shovel.
Jumper Cables.
Cell Phone & charger.
Rope.
Cutting device (box cutter, pocket knife).
Duct tape.
Tool kit.
Gloves, hat and boots.
Chains or traction devices.
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