Be Prepared Before Trips Over Passes
Sometimes a cliche can save your life.
And when it comes to crossing the Cascades in a snowstorm, people who take the time to “be prepared” may be the only ones who make it from here to Seattle.
“Anybody traveling during the winter, especially over the passes, needs extra equipment,” says Lt. Bruce Clark, a 26-year veteran of the Washington State Patrol.
Extra equipment? You may be thinking traction tires on the car and a set of chains in the trunk.
Good start, but keep packing. Clark’s trunk is heavy with survival gear, light on big-city style.
Sleeping bags. Brightly colored, warm clothing. Boots. Cellular phones. Flashers or flares. Candy bars. Soda pop. A candle and matches. (Drink the soda, stick the candle inside the can and light it. It’s cheap heat once the gas runs out.)
So, now you’re packed and on your way. The snow starts to swirl, your hands grip the wheel, your tires start to slip.
Turn off the cruise control, Clark says. “It’ll throw you out of control.”
Slow down. (Another cliche that’s a life saver.)
Put your car into neutral or push in the clutch when you brake. “It puts equal pressure to all the brakes and you have the best chance of getting stopped,” he says.
Don’t give up.
“Don’t scream or close your eyes,” says Clark. “Pray.
“But pray and drive.”
Car seat safety
If you’re a parent of small children, chances are you take avoidable risks each time you take them for a ride in the car.
A survey released last week by the National Safe Kids Campaign found that 85 percent of the 17,500 car seats and booster seats checked by experts at nationwide safety events were improperly used.
The three most common mistakes include: The safety belt wasn’t holding the seat tightly. (The seat shouldn’t move more than an inch from side to side.) The harness straps were too loose. (No more than one finger should fit beneath the straps.) The harness straps weren’t properly positioned. (In a rear-facing seat, the straps should be at or below the shoulders. In a front-facing seat, the straps should be in the top slots above the shoulders.)
Sadly for Spokane, the safety checks done locally found even worse results, with nearly 98 percent of the devices improperly used.
Safety experts say the best way to keep your kids safe is to check the harnesses and safety belts each time you strap them into the seat.
Reader question
Q. Is Northwest Boulevard near Audubon Park a two-lane or a four-lane road?
A. “Probably both,” says Don Ramsey of the city’s Transportation Department.
Pavement markings divide the road into two lanes, one for each direction of travel. But “any city road wide enough to be driven with two lanes in each direction can be driven as such,” Ramsey says. “It’s legal to drive it as a four-lane road.”
Go figure.
Keep your eyes on the road …
And (both) your hands on the wheel - especially when you’re passing a semi-truck, say AAA officials.
Big rigs can create huge wind gusts, leaving those driving smaller vehicles struggling to stay on the road.
In fact, AAA says, drivers should take several precautions when they come upon a semi-truck: Don’t tailgate. (A truck driver can’t see you if you’re within 100 feet of the bumper.) Avoid blind spots. (They’re on both sides of the truck.) Allow 30 seconds to pass. (Don’t return to the lane until you can see all the truck in your rearview mirror.)
Looking down the road
The state Department of Transportation plans two evening meetings on the north-south freeway project this month. DOT engineers won’t give formal presentations, but they will be around to answer questions.
The first open house is Thursday at 6 p.m. at Northwood Middle School, 13120 N. Pittsburgh. The meeting’s focus is the stretch of freeway from Hawthorne Road to U.S. Highway 395.
The second open house is Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook. The meeting’s focus is the stretch of freeway between the Spokane River and Hawthorne Road.
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