Families put a lot of time into planning their summer vacation, but are you ready if something goes wrong? Often people aren't familiar with the most basic procedures like how to change a tire.
"[It's] not so much the changing of the tire, but where the equipment is located and how to the tire winds from beneath the vehicle or if the tire is properly inflated before the trip," explained Ken Cousin, BCAA's Road Side Assistance director.
The answers are in your owner's manual. Familiarize yourself with the jack --how to get it out and how to use it. Spare tires are often in odd places - getting them out is easy with practice -- but hard for a first timer. The manual will also tell you how to do things safely.
If you breakdown on the road pull as far to the shoulder as possible and put on your hazard flashers. If your flashers aren't working open your hood to signify the car has broken down. Pay extra attention to the surrounding traffic, road conditions, and your passenger's safety.
A handy piece of emergency equipment is this reflective triangle you can set up behind your vehicle - it's much safer than a flare. Many people also carry emergency kits -- they are a really good idea.
"A minimum safety kit includes booster cables, safety blanket, flares, gloves, [and] depending on your mechanical experience some duct tape and stuff like that," recommended Cousin.
It should also include a small first aid kit, a flashlight, the more powerful the better, even a screwdriver, some electrical tape, a bungee cord and other essentials.
If you have a cell phone -- there is another accessory you'll want to take along.
"We get a lot of requests for service from cell phones and we often find that the cell phone battery is almost dead during those requests so another thing to prepare as you are travelling is to make sure your phone is charged up and ideally have a car kit with you," said Cousin.
The most common summer breakdowns are due to overheating, a failed charging system, bad battery or flat tires. Many could be avoided with some preventive maintenance before you head on the road.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
