The Holiday Season is Coming Your Way

The time has come for me to suggest a few things which you may need to do to create a safe and happy holiday season for you, your family and your favorite emergency service organization.  As we prepare to celebrate this holiday season of happiness and Thanksgiving, as the flurries start flying and the temps dip, let me suggest a number of things which you may wish to consider doing.

For all of us volunteer fire and folks, how can we make it to the station if our car gives up the ghost on us?  My buddies at the local tire shop who do all of the work on my suggest that it's a good time to give your vehicle a tune-up.  Take your car in and let the pros take a look at it.  In this new world of computers in your car talking to the computers in the shop, few among us have the luxury of doing the old style tune up in the back yard.

Now here is a real shocker for you.  How many of you have noticed that roads can get slick when the snow starts falling?  Let me see a show of hands.  Yes, the time for challenging driving is at hand.  Heck, I was watching a blizzard in and an ice storm in on CNN the other day.  Those stories sent a shiver up my spine and gave me flashbacks to last winter's blizzard-strewn battleground here in the Northeast.

Experts in the car care field suggest that a Thanksgiving pre-trip inspection gives you a chance to reduce the possibility of dangerous road trouble.  My buddies at the tire shop are really thorough.  They take the time to check the fluids in my car, check the hoses and belts, as well as the tires, lights and wipers. In my cares, experience has taught me that those checks have made my holidays a little more stress free.  Of course, retiring from the Newark Fire Department and not have to commute through snow storms also helped to reduce my personal stress levels.

For those of you who really need new tires, this is a purchase which can make a great difference in the way your car or truck handles during foul weather.  Heck, just making sure that the general maintenance on your vehicle is up to date can go a long way to keeping you safe.

It's not just running into somebody, it's making sure that fluids are set right and everything, in the event that your vehicle does break down. You don't want an empty fuel tank, you don't want your anti-freeze to be out of date and not be cooling your vehicle correctly. Just be prepared, basically.

If you are planning to travel keep an eye on the weather reports.  Make sure we do the speed limits, obey all traffic laws. Watch for people driving too close, getting too aggressive when they are driving.  Now, my friends, this is all well and good for you.  But what about the people who do not take any sort of precautions as they approach the winter driving season?

You and I will still be required to respond and do our duties out there on the highways and byways of .  We need to emphasize the need for attention to our highway safety message.  This is where your skill and training come into play. Now is the time to conduct an inspection of your safety equipment to insure that everything you need is in place and available.

Let me suggest that a review of your highway safety operating guidelines will serve as an excellent drill topic for mid-November and early-December.  This falls under the heading of "…know it before you need it…"   Let me offer the motto of the Boy Scouts of America to you as a warning and a guide to your operations during the upcoming Holidays as well as the entire winter driving season.  "BE PREPARED."  Thank you and please have a Happy Thanksgiving.