There are times when your automobile simply breaks down; if this has ever happened to you, you can undoubtedly attest to the fact that it is rarely a pleasant experience, particularly if you own a car.
Time, work, and energy are unavoidably lost when your car breaks down. Sadly, security is occasionally threatened. Some malfunctions or breakdowns are simple to identify the cause of, but other times they can be a pain. Examples include overheating, flat tires, smoking engines, or other mechanical failures.
Knowing the right course of action to follow in such a tricky scenario can make all the difference. While prevention is always preferable to suffering this agony, it is always wiser to have a firm grasp of what you need to do if your car breaks down on the highway. The following procedures should be followed if you ever find yourself stranded on the road with a car that has developed an unexpected issue of any kind.
- Examine the Location of Your Car
While stuck, search for a significant exit. Look for the locations of any notable restaurants, gas stations, or commercial centres. To contact someone for assistance, try to remember the name of the exit that was closest to your current location.
- Examine the root cause of the failure
You can try to spot anything unusual that is occurring to your automobile, such as strange noises, steam or smoke rising from the bonnet, or even leaking oil after you have sought sanctuary away from danger from approaching traffic or poor weather.
Be careful not to stand behind or in front of your automobile as you continue to do this. This is crucial to prevent you from being hit by potentially reckless drivers.
Get out of the automobile as soon as you can if your engine is smoking or you see a flame on the horizon
- Leaving the road
Pulling off the road is the first thing you should do when your car breaks down. To avoid rear-end collisions with other vehicles, move as far out onto the highway shoulder as you can. While attempting to do this, it’s crucial to signal. If there is no other option, pull over onto the hard shoulder and park as far to the left as you can safely do so.
Use your hazard lights if circumstances are so dire that you are unable to pull off the road. While attempting to move your car to safety, keep yourself safe. If a car could possibly hit you from behind, avoid sitting in the automobile. Most of the time, it is wise to get out of your car and wait until aid arrives in a safer location nearby.
- Turn your wheels right when parking
Make sure your car’s wheels are turned to the right when you park it on a safe section of the road so that if it is hit from behind, it won’t cross into oncoming traffic. Always exit your car from the right side to avoid traffic if you must.
- Reflective Triangles
When a car breaks down, this is a common roadside distress signal. Place two reflective triangles behind your automobile, one close by—typically around 10 feet away—and the other much further away.
- Keep the emergency lights on
A broken-down vehicle could be a severe invitation to tragedy for you and other motorists, especially at night and in poor weather. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, it is advised that you turn on your hazard lights. Additionally, if it’s dark out, switch on the interior dome light. These actions are intended to keep you in plain view of other motorists.
Alternately, raise the hood of your car. Tie a handkerchief, a brightly coloured piece of clothing, or a lightweight jacket to the door handle or antenna. Drivers are supposed to be warned by this to slow down and avoid you because your car is having trouble.
- Request assistance
Once you have found a secure parking space, you can contact a few roadside assistance companies. Call a tow truck if you don’t have them in the vicinity of that site, neighbourhood, or area.
You can wait for the highway patrol if you don’t have a phone or if your battery is dead. If you find yourself in this uncomfortable circumstance at night, you must proceed with utmost caution when accepting assistance from strangers. If you have parked your car in a secure location, stay inside; lock the doors, and keep the windows up.
While you wait patiently for assistance, it’s critical that you make sure your hazard lights, flares, and other warning signals are kept on and clearly visible to other road users.
How to Avoid Your Car from Breaking Down
There you are, happily driving along, listening to Davido‘s album for the 700th time in three days, when suddenly, a horrible clanking, snapping, clunking noise comes from somewhere underneath your car.
You’ve got no choice but to pull over and assess the damage, despite the fact that you have no idea how to assess the damage.
Hands-on hips, looking at the engine, shaking your head. What a nightmare! Breaking down is one of the most irritating problems drivers can face, so to help you avoid such a travesty, we’re going to tell you five things that could help you prevent a breakdown.
Drive Properly
Your driving habits have a direct impact on the health of your car and the parts that are essential for driving.
For example, don’t rev your car engine in cold weather because this will create rapid temperature changes within your engine and damage components. Try to avoid hard stops and hard starts because your brake pads and rotors will wear down. Instead, apply the brakes smoothly when coming to a halt.
Remove Unnecessary Load
If your car is stuffed full of books, spare parts, half of your wardrobe, year-old junk food, tigers, and random passengers, you’ll be carrying weight, which is having a negative impact on your car.
Every time you turn a corner, brake, and accelerate, your car has to work even harder to do what you want.
Your suspension and brakes will be under more pressure, while the fuel economy of your car will be significantly reduced. So clean your car and remove anything that may be adding unnecessary weight.
Keep your engine oil topped up
Engine oil is absolutely vital for keeping your car working properly. It stops heat and friction from building up within your engine and allows all of the moving parts to work properly.
If your engine oil light comes on, make sure to pull over as soon as possible and check underneath your car. If you see liquid dripping down, this is likely to be oil, and you must not carry on driving because your car will suffer and break down!
Conclusion
If your car breaks down, you hold know how to handle it, always keep your mechanic number handy and don’t feel shy to ask for help
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