If you ever get into the unpleasant situation of snowing in the car, and the weather conditions are extreme, such as during a blizzard, massive snow and traffic are blocked, specialists recommend you to keep in mind the following:
1) If your car is blocked by snow, outdoors is a blizzard and there is no vehicle or heavy equipment that could carry you to the first place, do not try to leave the car in order to get to the first place. In the case of a blizzard, the visibility decreases a lot and you will get lost. In addition, the blizzard trains the snow and forms snow dunes that will stop your advance. If you are not dressed very well, that means that gloves and boots, there is the risk of getting into hypothermia within 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the outside temperature is amplified by the wind and the risk of hypothermia is high in the case of uniqueness. If the outside temperature is -10 degrees Celsius and the wind blow at 30 km / h, the human body feels as if it is -20 degrees Celsius. In Romania, during the blizzards it happens to be -20 degrees and the wind speed is 80 km / h, which means that the body will feel -45 degrees Celsius;
2) As much as possible, try to move the car toward the edge of the street, but stay firm on the surface. You will ease the work of snow removal equipment and at the same time you will be safer;
3) Get in touch with the drivers in the snowmobile cars next to you to coordinate and help. Inform the authorities at the emergency number about your situation, mentioning the number of cars and snowmen. Specify the number of children or elders in this situation;
4) If you have to wait for the rescue or snow removal teams to come in, they may also arrive within 48 hours. Most likely, you will wait 10-20 hours if the conditions are extreme, and the snow removal teams cannot reach you immediately. Statistically, in Romania, a blizzard does not last more than 48 hours for the same area. Check out what supplies of water and food are available to you, but also how much fuel you have available taking these figures into account;
5) Ensure that the exhaust pipe is not blocked by snow. The car’s engine will stop if the gas fails to get out into the atmosphere. Check this every 30 minutes;
6) Check that the part of the engine area is not blocked over the bonnet. If the air does not penetrate to power the engine, it will stop;
7) The snow will come alongside the engine and this could lead to component failure. Check this by opening the bonnet, if possible;
8) Start the engine for at least 15 minutes every hour. A modern car with a capacity of up to 2.5 liters consumes between 1.5 liters and 4 liters of fuel per hour at idle. Make an estimate of the fuel reserve you need to consume for the next 24 hours;
9) To improve the warm-up of the passenger compartment, start the recirculation function in the passenger compartment. In this way, the air already heated from the passenger compartment will be heated faster;
10) Every 30 minutes, vent the passenger compartment by opening a door. The inside volume of the car is relatively small, only a few cubic meters, and it will be full of carbon dioxide due to breathing. Do not try to open the windows, especially if they are powered. In extreme conditions, it can be blocked, either because ice is deposited on the pad or because the electric motor is exposed to extreme temperatures. You do not want to stay with an open window in full blizzard. In the case of manually operated windows, the possibility of collapsing is very low;
11) Turn on the light inside and not the hazard warning lights. Thanks to the blizzard the hazard lights will be covered. The best visibility will have light from inside. Note that there are still specialized milling machines in Romania that are quite efficient on the Zil and Ural truck with the engine located in front of the cabin. This does not allow very good visibility during snow mowing. It is possible for your machine to be hit by such a milling cutter if it is not visible. Tell the other occupants of the car how the headlights work, as well as the horn. If you are hit, you must act to signal in any way, like use the reflective vest, warning signs and to avoid a serious accident.