Late Summer Road Survival: Don't Let August Get the Last Laugh

By the end of August, our vehicles have been through some things.

Heat. Dust. Gravel. Construction. Long days. Road trips. Job sites. Trailers. Potholes. And probably at least one questionable gas-station lunch.

At the same time, harvest is getting underway, road crews are still working, vegetation is dry, wildlife is moving, and many of us are traveling long distances through rural areas.

Before we roll into fall, this is a good time for a late-summer vehicle safety reset.

💧 Water Is Cheap. Being Stranded Without It Isn't.

If you're traveling for work, especially through rural areas, carry more water than you think you'll need.

And no, the half-empty bottle that's been rolling around under the passenger seat since June doesn't count.

Keep enough drinking water for the people in the vehicle, along with a few shelf-stable snacks such as:

• Granola or protein bars

• Jerky

• Crackers

• Trail mix

• Electrolyte packets or drinks

A breakdown that should have been a minor inconvenience can become much more serious when temperatures are high and you're miles from the nearest town.

🌡️ Don't Ignore Heat Stress

Heat stress doesn't always announce itself dramatically. It can start with a headache, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea, weakness, or heavy sweating.

Pay attention to yourself and the people working around you.

If someone becomes confused, loses coordination, collapses, or shows signs of heat stroke, treat it as a medical emergency and get emergency medical assistance.

The goal isn't to prove how tough you are.

The goal is to go home at the end of the day.

🩹 Upgrade the Sad Little First Aid Kit

Open the first aid kit in your work vehicle.

Go ahead.

We'll wait.

If it contains ten tiny Band-Aids, three alcohol wipes, questionable tweezers, and one pair of gloves, it's probably time for an upgrade.

Consider adding practical supplies for the injuries your employees could realistically encounter, including:

• Extra gauze

• Roller bandages

• Trauma pads

• Compression bandages

• Medical tape

• Multiple pairs of disposable gloves

• Additional wound-care supplies

For operations where serious bleeding injuries are reasonably possible, consider commercially manufactured bleeding-control equipment such as a windlass-style tourniquet and an elastic compression bandage, such as a SWAT-T™ style bandage.

Important: Specialized bleeding-control equipment should be paired with appropriate employee training. Buying a tourniquet and throwing it behind the seat isn't the same thing as knowing how and when to use it.

🛞 Your Spare Tire Would Like Some Attention

When was the last time you checked your spare tire?

If your answer is, "It's probably fine," this section is specifically for you.

Check:

• Tire pressure

• Tread and overall condition

• Cracking and dry rot

• Jack

• Lug wrench

• Locking lug key, if applicable

Finding out your spare tire is also flat after getting a flat tire is the kind of personal-growth experience nobody asked for.

🚛 Give the Trailer a Second Look

Trailers deserve more than a kick of the tire and a "Yep, that'll ride."

Before leaving, check the:

• Coupler and hitch

• Hitch pin

• Safety chains

• Electrical connection

• Lights

• Tires

• Trailer jack

• Ramps

• Tie downs

• Toolboxes

• Cargo and equipment

Most importantly, make sure nothing can drag on the roadway.

Secure chains, jacks, ramps, equipment, and anything else that could come loose.

Dragging metal can create sparks, and late-summer vegetation can be extremely dry.

A five-minute walk-around is considerably easier than explaining how your trailer started a roadside fire.

🔥 See Something Dragging and Sparking? Don't Ignore It.

If you're traveling and see another vehicle or trailer dragging chains, equipment, a jack, or another object that's throwing sparks, don't assume the driver knows.

When you can do so safely, report the hazard to the appropriate local law enforcement or county non-emergency dispatch.

Provide a good vehicle description, direction of travel, roadway, approximate location, and what you observed.

Hopefully someone can get the vehicle stopped before those sparks turn into a roadside fire.

Do not put yourself at risk trying to chase, stop, or confront another driver.

🚜 Harvest Season: Share the Road

Late summer means farmers are everywhere.

Combines. Tractors. Grain trucks. Swathers. Hay equipment. Implements that are approximately the width of Rhode Island.

We love our farmers, and we want them to get home safely too.

Slow down and give agricultural equipment room.

Don't make a risky pass because waiting behind a tractor for 90 seconds has apparently become the greatest hardship of your adult life.

Watch hills, curves, intersections, field approaches, and areas where equipment may suddenly enter or leave the roadway.

🚧 Watch for Road Crews Too

Keep an eye out for:

• Ditch mowers

• Weed sprayers

• County maintenance equipment

• Construction crews

• Flaggers

• Utility workers

• Other slow-moving vehicles

Slow down early and give workers and equipment plenty of space.

They have a job to do, and they deserve to go home safely at the end of their shift too.

🦌 Critters Have Absolutely No Respect for Your Schedule

Deer, cattle, horses, antelope, birds, dogs, and other animals can appear quickly on rural roads.

Stay alert, especially around fields, tree lines, waterways, livestock areas, and during times when wildlife activity is higher.

Remember that where there's one animal, there may be another one right behind it.

And yes, the deer will wait until the absolute worst possible moment.

It's tradition.

🟡 Sometimes YOU Are the Slow-Moving Vehicle

If you're operating slow-moving equipment, help other motorists see you.

Use required lighting, markings, and slow-moving vehicle identification appropriate for the equipment and operation.

Use your warning flashers when appropriate.

For equipment that spends significant time traveling public roads, consider investing in a quality amber warning light or light bar where permitted and appropriate.

Visibility buys other drivers reaction time.

That's incredibly valuable when they're coming over a hill at highway speed and you're traveling 20 mph.

📍 Lone Workers: Somebody Should Know Where You Are

Traveling alone?

Working alone?

Going somewhere remote?

Tell someone:

• Where you're going

• Your general route

• When you expect to arrive

• When you expect to return

• When they should expect a check-in

If your plans change, update them.

It doesn't need to be complicated. A quick text to a supervisor, coworker, dispatcher, spouse, or designated check-in person can make a huge difference if something goes wrong.

Someone should know where to start looking if you don't show up.

🚗 Your Five-Minute Late-Summer Vehicle Check

Before your next long trip, take five minutes and ask:

Do I have enough water?

Do I have emergency snacks?

Is my first aid kit actually useful?

Have I checked the spare tire?

Is my jack usable?

If I'm pulling a trailer, are the chains, jack, ramps, cargo, and equipment secure?

Is anything capable of dragging or creating sparks?

Does someone know where I'm going and approximately when I'll arrive?

Five minutes in the parking lot beats five hours sitting alongside a gravel road contemplating every decision that brought you there.

🗣️ Before You Head Out: Talk It Over

A good toolbox talk shouldn't just be someone reading a piece of paper while everyone else thinks about what they're having for lunch.

Take a few minutes with your crew and talk about what this actually looks like in your vehicles, your equipment, and your work area.

1. What's one thing in your vehicle that you've been meaning to fix or replace?Be honest. We all have one.

2. When was the last time you actually checked your spare tire?Not looked at it. Not assumed it existed. Checked the pressure and condition.

3. Does your first aid kit have supplies for more than minor cuts?If someone had a significant injury, what could you realistically do with what's in the vehicle right now?

4. What additional emergency supplies would be helpful for your work area?Think about where you travel, how remote you are, the weather, your equipment, and how long it could take for help to arrive.

5. How do you check in when traveling or working alone?Does someone know your route, destination, and ETA? What happens if you don't check in?

6. Have you ever seen someone dragging equipment, chains, or something else that was throwing sparks? What did you do?Would everyone on your crew know who to call and what information to provide?

7. What harvest or road-work hazards have you already noticed this season?Combines? Grain trucks? Ditch mowers? Weed sprayers? Road construction? Something else?

8. If you became stranded today, would you have enough water and supplies to stay safe until help arrived?Think about where you're working today, not where you normally work.

If one of these questions makes everyone look at each other and say, "Huh... we should probably fix that," then congratulations.

The toolbox talk worked.

The Bottom Line

Late summer is busy.

Harvest is starting. Road crews are working. Wildlife is moving. Vegetation is dry. Temperatures can still be dangerously hot. Employees are traveling, towing equipment, working alone, and putting plenty of miles on vehicles.

Don't let familiarity turn into complacency.

Check the vehicle. Check the trailer. Pack some water. Upgrade the first aid kit. Watch out for the people working alongside our roads. And make sure somebody knows where you're headed.

A little preparation can keep a minor inconvenience from becoming a serious emergency.

Stay safe out there, and let's finish summer without becoming a story that starts with:

"So there I was, 40 miles from town..."