How to Be Ready for Any Eventuality When Travelling on a Rural Road
Posted on: 12 October 2018
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Do you have a long journey ahead of you, which may take you off the beaten path and across some of those famous areas of wilderness unique to Australia? If so, you may be a little apprehensive about your adventure, but understand that you should be okay so long as you are well prepared and stock up with safety provisions. You should certainly make sure that your vehicle is in good condition, that your spare tyre is inflated and that you have enough fuel for the trip, but you should also be wary of any breakdown and know what to do in that eventuality.
Ready for Anything?
To be as safe as possible, you should never travel alone and especially on a lengthy journey through very rural areas. If you have a companion, it will make it a lot easier to deal with any issue, but if you don't, then you must always take a fully-charged mobile phone with you just in case.
Out Of the Blue
Murphy's Law being what it is, you may find that your car will not co-operate when you try to restart it after a short break. If you've had the air conditioning on high and the stereo system on full blast, this may have been simply too much for an older battery, and it's given up the ghost.
Nonstop
In this situation, you should look out for a passing motorist to see if they will come to your aid. Hopefully you will have packed some jumper cables as part of your preparation, and when you connect the two vehicles, you may be able to get back on the road. However, other motorists may be a bit recalcitrant to stop in a remote location, and you may spend time persuading somebody to do so.
Push!
If you do have a partner in your car and they are feeling particularly energetic, see if they will help you to push start and force the engine to ignite. To do this, turn the ignition on, engage gear and keep your foot on the clutch pedal while they push gainfully from the rear. When you've built up some momentum, you can let the clutch pedal out sharply, and this will usually force the engine to splutter into life. There again, this method will not work if you have an automatic gearbox, and you may have to call out the troops for help.
Reinforcements
Remember all that preparation you were supposed to do? Part of this would involve finding the number of a mobile battery replacement service and entering it into your phone. All you need to do now is dial them up so that you can get on your way as soon as possible.