Driving in Bad Conditions
~~Driving in Bad Conditions
When you are getting ready to BUG out you might be driving in bad conditions. Can you drive in the Snow, Rain, Mud, Sand, High Water? Do you have the accessories for your vehicle to make it possible? Will the tires have the traction needed? Will your BOV do the Job?
Back in December, we took a trip to an area that has snowed 1 day before, this trip was for 2 reasons: 1. To take my son sledding, 2. To test our BOV and my driving ability in the snow. We left at 3 AM (it is a 3- hour trip to our destination and the sledding place opened at 8 AM). I am glad that my wife and son were sleeping for most of the trip because of the conditions we were going through (ice/snow patches and long stretches of thick fog). It was very scary but I did learn some lessons on how to handle our BOV in these conditions and we made it there safely. And my son had a blast sledding in the snow.
For these conditions, we had emergency supplies: 15 gallons of water, Blankets, emergency food, first aid kit, automotive tools and fluids/chemicals, signal devices, hand crank radio/power supply for cell phones, CB radio, cold weather clothing/ shoes, traction chains (snow cable chains) so we were fully loaded. Our BOV is 4wd with good “All Terrain” tires, and equipped with all wheel “Anti-Lock” brakes.
This was a great opportunity to learn how the BOV handles the snow/ ice, and what situations we needed to use the 4wd High/Low or stay in 2wd. I did see vehicles off the road that had lost control because of loss of traction. So far I have driven in the sand, mud, streams, forest roads, and now snow.
These driving skills are necessary and should be learned a head of time not learned during the “Oh Crap We Gotta Go” moment. Some 4wd clubs do teach how to drive in these conditions so see if you can find anyone that can show you how to handle “your” vehicle in different driving conditions, because you never know what you are going to be driving through, plus get you in the right mindset on what to do even if you have never driven in that situation. Just remember when you have to “get out”, it might not be a nice sunny day outside, it may rain, snow, etc. So be ready to drive in it!
