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 Most people don’t think about their cars during hurricane season, but your car may just be your key to safety, according to Brian Williams of Saxon MG.

If a hurricane is severe enough and you need to evacuate your car can be your lifeline, so make sure your car is ready for a hurricane and understand how to drive in severe storm conditions.
Make sure you have a full tank of gas before a storm arrives.

Store a crate in your trunk containing emergency supplies, including a first aid kit, duct tape, jumper cables for a dead battery, one or two blankets, a flashlight, bottled water, some sealed shelf stable food like energy bars, some basic tools like a screwdriver and pliers, as well as some brightly coloured cloths to tie to your rear view mirror to signal for help if you need it.

Make sure your spare tire is in good condition.

If you are evacuating, have a fully charged mobile phone with you.

While evacuating or driving home after an evacuation, avoid driving through water. As little as 12 inches of moving water can sweep the average car off the road. Of all hurricane deaths recorded over the last 30 years, half was due to inland flooding, with one in four of those being someone who drowned inside a car.

If your vehicle stalls in deep water you may have to restart the engine to make it to safety. However, if you do so it may cause serious damage to the engine. If you cannot restart the engine and could become trapped by rising water, abandon the car immediately and make for higher ground.

If you are trapped in the vehicle, call 911 or get help from someone on higher ground.

After you have made it through deep water in your vehicle, depress the brakes slowly several time in order to dry them out and ensure effective braking.

If you are evacuating an area and leaving your vehicle behind, try to find an area that is somewhat elevated, as low lying areas will flood first. Rising water can seep in and damage your vehicle, meaning that if the car has been left in an area that floods easily, you could face serious damages even if the storm was relatively mild.

And just in case you neglected your auto insurance, Saxon MG allows vehicles to added to a policy at any time, while electronic signatures mean that the application form can be signed anywhere at any time.

The company takes its role in the community seriously and is a co sponsor of the driver’s education programme in public high schools in Cayman.

For more info
T:    94Saxon (947-2966)

www.saxonmg.ky
facebook.com/saxonmg
twitter.com/saxon_mg