Every Saturday my husband wakes up bright
and early to listen to his "shows" on NPR (National Public Radio for you
non-hipsters). If nothing's on the boob tube, I
even listen along myself.
Although I'm not
a huge fan of chat radio, I have to admit, the all-about-auto show "Car
Talk" is not only hilarious, it's also very informative. The
Magliozzi brothers give great advice to all sorts of drivers and have
vast knowledge of all types of vehicles. They've seen and
heard it all when it comes to cars.
Hampton Roads drivers can catch "Car Talk" on 89.5
WHRV FM (your local NPR station sponsored by
Checkered
Flag Audi) at 10:00am Saturday mornings.
Here's a little classic Magliozzi brother advice to
hold you over until this week's show. Pay attention,
Checkered
Flag fans, this is good stuff!
Article
source: [
cars.com]
Top
10 Signs You Should Pull Over Immediately
By Tom and Ray
Magliozzi, Car Talk
Cars are so reliable these days;
it's easy to forget that you can still have an
emergency.
Here's our Top 10 list of the things that
should cause you to pull your car over
immediately.
(We know, this was supposed to be only
10 reasons to pull over immediately, but we thought of a few more. So
sue us!)
12. Losing Something
'Essential'
We're sure this has happened to you.
You're driving along and you reach into your glove box to grab your
Sleepy LaBeef CD. As you're fumbling to open the CD case with one hand,
the CD pops out and falls on the floor, under your legs. What do you do?
Too many people bend down while they're driving and try to find
Sleepy's greatest hits. Don't do it. Remember that at 65 mph every
second your head spends down between your knees your car moves almost
100 feet without a driver! Besides, if your head is down there when you
crash it could end up firmly implanted somewhere embarrassing. One might
even argue that it already is in that dark place if you engage in this
risky behavior.
So if you drop something - a CD, your
keys, your phone, a french fry - either let it sit there until you get
to your destination or pull over before you fish it
out.
11. Cabin
Chaos
Sometimes things get exciting inside a car. The
kids, who normally slap and pinch each other suddenly pull out kitchen
knives. Or your Labrador sees a cute little poodle crossing the street
and jumps into your lap to get a closer look. Or your mother-in-law
announces that she's just filled her Depends. Don't try to solve
problems like these and drive at the same time. You can't. It's tempting
to try to reach the kids in the backseat and separate them or toss the
dog into the backseat or help your mother-in-law ... nevermind. It's
much wiser to pull over and get things back under control. Then get back
on the road.
10. Medical
Emergency
If you think that you may be experiencing a
medical problem, pull over right away. We've heard too many stories
about people who have all the signs of a stroke or heart attack, yet
they decide to try to "make it home" before calling for help. This is a
recipe for killing yourself and other people on the road. If you have
any reason to believe you're getting seriously ill, pull over and call
for help. That's what 911 is for.
Even less deadly
medical problems can make us lousy drivers. So consider pulling over and
resting if you have something in your eye, a migraine headache or
intense heartburn. Pull over if you can't sit still because you need to
use the bathroom (or the bushes next to the road) or if you drop cigar
ash between your legs. Anything that causes you to worry more about some
part of your body than what's happening on the road in front of you is a
good reason to pull over and stop driving until the problem is
solved.
9. Lack of
Visibility
We tend to forget that when we're driving
we're piloting a 3,000-pound projectile. And when you're going 65 mph,
you're covering 96 feet in one second. It'll take you 316 feet to come
to a complete stop under ideal conditions. For that reason, it's good to
be able to see!
Your visibility can suddenly become
impaired for all kinds of reasons: a sudden downpour, thick fog, broken
windshield wipers, a big splash of mud and an empty windshield washer
reservoir, a flying projectile that cracks your windshield or a hood
latch that breaks and sends the hood flying up while you're driving. And
this doesn't even count the most common source of poor visibility -
failure to clean off the windshield when it's snowy or icy. Bottom line:
If you can't see well for any reason, pull over right away and either
fix the problem or wait until the weather changes before getting back on
the road.
8. Any Loud or Sudden
Noise
Unless you're driving Tommy's MG, your car is
not supposed to make any loud, sudden or unidentifiable noises. A loud
or sudden noise can be benign. It could be a plastic milk jug that you
ran over. On the other hand, it could also mean that your engine just
launched a spark plug into low-Earth orbit.
Unless
it's a milk jug, it indicates that something has just changed. It's
changed from one piece to several pieces or changed from attached to
unattached. Either way, it's best to pull over and try to figure it
out.
7. Temperature Light or Oil
Light
There are very few things that can wreck a car
in less than two minutes. There's a direct hit by a meteor or a
Caterpillar D9. Fortunately, both are very uncommon. But there are two
common things that can ruin cars - severe overheating and loss of oil
pressure. Your dashboard has idiot lights for both of these conditions.
They're talking to you, pal.
If either of those
lights comes on, don't try to make it home before investigating. Driving
with no oil pressure can wreck a car's internal parts in minutes. Or
less. Severe overheating can blow your head gasket or warp or crack your
cylinder head or block just as quickly.
A customer
of ours had the oil light come on and drove home before calling us. We
asked her, "Why did you try to get home?" She said she felt safer at
home. That's understandable, we said, but that feeling of safety just
cost you $7,000! If you see the oil light or hot light, unless it's
unsafe to do so, pull over and call for
help.
6. Sudden Change in
Handling
If something changes in your car's handling
and you can feel it in your steering wheel, chances are it is serious.
It could be a sudden, extreme change like a tire blowing out or a wheel
about to fall off. Or you might notice that the steering wheel is
suddenly wobbling or tugging in one direction. These are all potentially
serious problems that require pulling over.
Not
every change in handling is dire. A small wobble could be something
relatively minor like a lost wheel weight or a bad tire. It could be as
simple as a change in road surface. Here's the catch: If you try to make
an on-the-fly diagnosis, you risk driving over a guard rail and onto a
nearby putting green. Or much worse. There are a lot of crucial pieces
in the front end of the car. Because they're attached to the front
wheels you can often feel a change in the steering wheel. Pay attention
to it.
5. Steam/Water
Vapor
Steam is usually an indication that coolant,
which is under pressure, is escaping from your car's cooling system. If
it's leaking slowly and hitting an exhaust pipe or something else that's
hot, it may not be an emergency. But if it's leaking quickly, you can
overheat the engine and do serious damage to your engine and your
wallet. If your engine is overheating, you can sometimes save yourself
thousands of dollars by pulling over before permanent damage is
done.
Don't twist off the radiator cap right away to
have a look-see. If your car is overheating, or even if it's not, the
coolant is under very high pressure and can burn your face until it
looks as bad as my brother's. So if you're not mechanically inclined,
pull over, turn off your engine and find a good, local garage that can
lend a hand.
4. Smell
We
each know what our car smells like: Mostly, it smells like us, which is
why it offends other people. Or it may smell like some combination of
new-car smell, wet dog, old juice boxes and maybe grandma. If you notice
a new smell - especially if you know it didn't come from you - it's
best to pull over and investigate it. It could be relatively benign such
as when you drive over a plastic grocery bag and it sticks to your hot
catalytic converter or a meatball sub that slid under the passenger
seat. But it could be something more serious like wire insulation
burning or a gas leak. So if you notice a smell that's unusual and you
can't identify it, it's best to pull over and make sure it's nothing
getting ready to cause a disaster.
Your two primary
concerns are gasoline, which you should never smell in the passenger
compartment once you're moving, and something that's smoldering and
could catch fire. Smoldering electrical wires are the most common source
of fire. Once you pull over, you should investigate the smell
carefully. And if you're at all concerned, call for
help.
3. Smoke
There are
lots of reasons why smoke might be issuing forth from your vehicle. But
almost all of them are bad. Some are not emergencies such as when
engine oil is dripping onto a hot exhaust pipe since a small amount of
oil can produce a lot of smoke. But other times where there's smoke,
there's fire. Or there soon will be. If you see smoke, it's best to pull
over and check it out.
2.
Flames
If you see flames spouting from anywhere in
your car, pull over immediately. Not only is your car beginning to turn
into automotive flambé before your eyes, but there's a risk to your
life, as well. Even if the flames aren't burning you, per se, the fumes
may be doing you in. So unless you're a trained firefighter, the best
thing to do is look out for your own safety. Pull over, lace up your Pro
Keds, get a safe distance away from your car and call 911. Then, and
only then, do we advise pulling out your long, pronged fork and roasting
marshmallows.
1. Blue Lights
Remember
what happens if you don't pull over when you see blue
lights.
One final note: What does it mean to "pull
over immediately"? It means pull over as quickly as it's safe to do so.
Don't swerve across five lanes of traffic. Check around you. Check the
side of the road to see if there's a place to pull off. And then pull
over.
End of article.
Of course,
all of our drivers know that if they start having mechanical issues with
their vehicle they should call
Checkered Flag
service immediately at (757)490-1111 and we'll have you back
on the road in a jif!
