What should you do FIRST if your car breaks down far from help?

Do not walk away: stay with your vehicle — it is shelter, and rescuers can spot a car far sooner than a person. Then be visible, guard against carbon monoxide, and ration heat.

If your car breaks down far from help, fight the most dangerous instinct first: the urge to get out and walk. Stay with your vehicle — it is shelter, and a car is far easier for rescuers to spot than a person. Then make yourself visible: switch the hazard lights on and tie something bright to the antenna or a door handle.

If it is cold and you must run the engine for heat, guard against carbon monoxide poisoning: clear snow and ice away from the exhaust pipe and crack a window before idling. Ration fuel and heat by running the engine in short bursts rather than continuously, and signal regularly — three blasts on the horn is the classic distress call. Keep trying your phone too: even with no bars, emergency calls can sometimes connect through another carrier.