Why You Should Stay With Your Car When It’s Stuck
It is a human urge to take action, especially in potentially dire circumstances. You may think that the best thing to do is to rush in looking for help when you are stuck in your car. Is not.
If you are not entirely sure where you are and you do not know that there is a gas station within walking distance, you should stay put. This is because people looking for you are much more likely to find your car before they find a lonely person in the desert, according to u / MorsOmnibusCommunis , who posted this post to r / LifeProTips:
If you ever find yourself off the beaten path, stay with your car. You are much more likely to be found by search engines, and if necessary, you will have a refuge.
When the local search for the missing 74-year-old hunter begins on the fifth day, I recall that one day a search and rescue worker told me, “Stay with your car, because we always find a car.” This was confirmed in the case of this hunter. His truck was found stuck in a ditch a day after he was reported missing, but unfortunately it was never found.
It makes sense; The vehicle has much more visibility than one person, both from above and from the ground. Especially if this lonely person sat down or lay down, or got into some kind of accident, keeping him close to the ground. The vehicle also provides shelter in bad weather. As long as you have water, you can live for several days. If someone knows where you were headed, the search party will follow your trail, so hold on.
While we’re on car survival, the answers were full of extra prep tips in case the worst happens, like this one from u / Rycross :
In winter, you should also put extra blankets in the trunk in case you get stuck in a stranded position. Water will not hurt either.
Then u / nospamkhanman suggested adding a candle and waterproof matches to your kit, because one lit candle can “raise the temperature in your car by about 10 degrees,” or so they say. There has been some controversy about the safety of this because while there may be a draft in the car, the candle can quickly consume oxygen. By u / According corgibutt19, safer alternative toasts are warmers for hands .
Other proposals for emergency kits include accelerators for kindling a fire, for example, this one from u / Corey307 :
A warm set of clothes, an emergency blanket, a flashlight, matches, a lighter, a small bottle of naphtha, a gallon of water, and a box of muesli bars, or something similar. A simple first aid kit made of gauze compresses, rolled gauze, and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol will do. You can start a fire, keep warm and eat and drink for 2-3 days, and treat bleeding.
Making a fire is easy if you have an accelerator. Collect a variety of small twigs and dry leaves or needles. If everything is wet, look under fallen logs or bury a bunch of leaves or needles. Add an accelerator to the tinder. Make a wigwam or shade in with the larger sticks and light the fire. Once everything is fine, you can add larger details over time.
Some people suggested lighting a fire in order to attract attention, even went so far as to remove the tire from the wheelchair and burn it; this will produce dark black smoke. It is possible that the search engines will be attracted by a jet of smoke, but it is also possible that you can start a forest fire. Not only will this endanger the forest, but it will also expose you to even more danger, so if you ever find yourself in such an extreme situation, proceed with caution. Just remember that the safest thing to do is not to continue at all, but to stay put.