by California Casualty | Auto Insurance Info |
A tire blowout is a rapid loss of air that causes your vehicle to lose control. It’s a dangerous surprise that can happen anytime your car is in motion. If you are driving down the road and suddenly hear a loud POP or THUD and feel your car begin to jerk or pull to the side, odds are you have just experienced a blowout.
Tire blowouts can be frightening, especially for young or inexperienced drivers, and can cause you to feel like you’re losing control of your vehicle. Blowouts cause 78,000 crashes a year, so keeping your cool and knowing how to proceed after a blowout is vital.
Here’s what to do if a blowout happens to you.
Step 1: Don’t panic. The most important thing you can do during a blowout is to stay calm. Don’t try to immediately overcorrect or press on your brakes- this could cause you to lose even more control.
Step 2: Grip the steering wheel firmly. Keep both hands on the steering wheel and keep the car moving forward in a straight line. You may feel the need to try and steer off to the side of the road or overcorrect if it starts to fishtail- don’t. To avoid an accident keep the car as straight as you can.
Step 3: Tap your gas pedal. If you are trying to regain control of your vehicle, accelerating lightly will help you because you are keeping your forward momentum. Braking immediately will only cause the car to become harder to control and could lead to an accident. Gently press the gas pedal and adjust to how the car moves. Once you’ve regained full control, slowly remove your foot from the accelerator and let the car slow.
Step 4: Brake Slowly. When your speedometer reads 30mph, it’s safe to slowly begin braking. After you have slowed enough to begin hitting your breaks it is safe to steer the vehicle into the rightmost lane or shoulder of the road (if possible). Continue braking steadily until your car stops completely.
Step 5: Put on your hazards. Put it in park and turn on hazard lights or put out reflective triangles and collect yourself. If you are still in the middle of the road, you should exit your vehicle and get to safety- out of the way of a collision.
Step 6: Change your tire or call roadside assistance. If you can safely change your tire and there is no damage done to your rim, now is the time to do so. If you cannot safely change your tire or don’t have a spare call for roadside assistance.
How to Avoid a Future Blowout.
A tire blowout may happen due to a number of circumstances: underinflation, too much weight in the vehicle, hitting a pothole or other debris, and even over-wear.
To avoid a future blowout, try to miss potholes & debris- when you can safely do so- and make sure to maintain your tires. You can do this by routinely checking your tire pressure, monitoring your tires for wear and tear (even small cuts and other minor defects can lead to a blowout), and most importantly keeping up with getting new tires.
New tires can generally last you anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 miles. You will want to refer to your owner’s manual for recommendations on what tires you can put on your vehicle and their lifespan. A great way to keep your tires in check is to monitor their tread. You can do this by using the quarter test. If you are unfamiliar with the quarter test, here’s how it works- place a quarter in the center of the tread (thickest part of the tire), with the head facing you, in a new tire the quarter will easily fit and you should be unable to see the hair on the top of the head. If the hair is partially visible, you should think about replacing the tires. If you can see the very top of the head, the tires need to be replaced right away.
What About Insurance?
So, are you covered if you experience a tire blowout? Your auto insurance policy may cover sudden or accidental damage to your tires, like a blowout, depending on your policy.
Before an unexpected blowout happens to you make sure you’re covered. Check with your auto insurance provider or call in to review your policy.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
by California Casualty | Auto Insurance Info, Travel |
Traveling with a toddler is always an adventure — no matter where you go!
In observance of Child Passenger Safety Week, we’ve compiled a safety checklist for trips near and far. And because we care about your mental health (wink), we’ve also included some parental survival strategies for good measure.
Plan your getaway and go make some great road trip memories!
Safety First
- Make sure your car’s road-ready – A lot can happen out there, so be sure to get your car serviced ahead of time. Tires, oil, engine fluids, wipers — make sure they’re all in tip-top shape.
- Get a car seat inspection – If you have any doubts about whether your car seat’s installed properly, you can book an appointment with a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician in your community by visiting here (use the search tool at the bottom). While you’re at it, register your seat online so you can get notified in case of a safety recall.
- Guard against heatstroke – Heatstroke can occur at any time of year, in any condition, and in any community. Protect your child by taking them with you instead of leaving them in the car alone and always looking in your car before locking. Keep your vehicle locked when not in use (and keys away from curious little hands).
- Eliminate back over risk – Tragically, many children are killed or injured by cars backing out of driveways and parking spaces. There are many precautions you can take as a driver and ways you can protect your children against a backover accident — see the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s list here.
- Don’t leave them alone in the car – Even if you need to run into the store for “just a minute” it’s better to be safe than sorry. From heat stroke to foul play to your child getting loose in the car, the risk of leaving them in the car far outweighs any savings in time or trouble.
- Make sure you have roadside assistance – Out of mind when you don’t need it, priceless when you do — roadside assistance is especially important when traveling with young ones. It usually covers towing to a service station, battery jumping, flat tire repairs, unlocking car doors, and a range of other catastrophe rescues.
- Pack your first aid kit – Bruises, scrapes, stings, sunburns, and splinters are just as likely to happen away from home. Be ready with your kit, and maybe even refresh your first aid and CPR skills.
- Prevent power window injuries – Keep little fingers, hands, and wrists safe by using the power window locks, making sure toddlers are secure in their car seats, and teach them not to play with the switches.
- Secure the seat belts – Keep your child from getting entangled in seat belts by securing the loose ones within their reach. Ensure they’re restrained in their car seat at all times while in the car.
Sanity-Savers for You
- Separate the kids – It’s inevitable: if you’re traveling with more than one kid, they’re going to fight at some point. Get ahead of the inevitable by seating them as far from each other as possible. Obviously, the bigger the car, the easier this is.
- Take breaks – Kids need to move. Heck, adults need to move! If you can look for parks or playgrounds, all the better — but any place that lets you stretch your legs, move around and break up the monotony will work.
- Prep your hygiene arsenal – Make sure to pack plenty of potty supplies, wipes, tissues, and paper towels (not to mention cleaning supplies for spills and food accidents).
- Kid-ify your itinerary – Plan your trip with your kid(s) in mind. This means taking nap schedules and energy peaks/valleys into account, and planning out when you’ll arrive at destinations (and what those are), when will be best for the multi-hour highway time, etc.
- Stock up on healthy snacks – Having nutritious snacks on hand prevents you from desperation-buying chips at the gas station or sitting through a sugar crash tantrum. Raw veggies, fruit, trail mix, crackers, and low-sugar baked goods are usually winners.
- Don’t forget the entertainment – Keeping toys and books close to your toddler will allow you to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. If your car has a screen, bring in-flight entertainment! Finally, playing road games is a favorite, no matter the generation.
- Bring binkies and blankies – It’s important to pack some comfort from home if you’ll be gone for any length of time. Blankies and binkies might calm your child like nothing else in the midst of the excitement and new surroundings.
Prepping ahead of time will make any road trip smoother, but it does wonders for traveling with toddlers.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
by California Casualty | News |
David Williams can now point to almost any place on the globe and head there for a new experience.
David was the lucky person chosen from thousands of entries in the “Win Half-A-Million Miles” Sweepstakes from California Casualty. David, who promised his daughter a European vacation as a graduation trip, will now be able to take his entire family!
With 500,000 miles, David hints the trip to Europe will be just the beginning. “This opens up the world to us for new adventures,” he said.
One of those adventures maybe a trip to Cambodia, Thailand, and other exciting parts of Southeast Asia.
“We will be very judicious with the mileage. We appreciate the opportunity this will afford us and we are thankful for the chance to do things that we might not have been able to do before,” he added.
David, who has been traveling to China for business for the past 30 years, appreciates United Airlines and is a dedicated United MileagePlus member. “I’m an anxious flyer, but United makes the experience much more enjoyable,” he said.
California Casualty offers customers who purchase auto and home/renters insurance United MileagePlus miles. Now the most rewarding airline loyalty program allows members to qualify for first-class service with special benefits from California Casualty:
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- Great rates
- Free ID defense
- $500 coverage for non-electronic personal property stolen from your vehicle
- $0 deductible for accidents with a rental car
- Affordable towing and roadside assistance
- $1,000 pet injury coverage
- Skip payment options
California Casualty is inviting United MileagePlus members to buckle in for another chance to win a half-a-million miles in 2020. With 4,400 daily flights to more than 300 cities across five continents, the options for half-a-million miles are endless: a trip to Paris, a Tahiti getaway, sampling dim sum in Hong Kong, touring the sights of Rio de Janeiro or visiting the Vatican in Rome. The sky’s the limit.
David recommends that all United MileagePlus members enter because, until this contest, he had never won anything before. “I’m proof that anyone can win and I’ll be entering more contests and offers like this in the future,” he said.
United MileagePlus members can enter now at www.win500kMiles.com.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses, and United MileagePlus members. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
by California Casualty | Calcas Connection, Consider This |
When you signed up with California Casualty, you joined a well-respected, 105-year-old, family-owned insurance company. It’s easy, after the excitement of making a change, to forget some of the reasons you chose California Casualty. Not only did you qualify for special group pricing, you also received valuable benefits that came with your auto and home insurance. They include:
- Rates good for a full year, not six months like many insurers offer
- Auto insurance that covers $500 for non-electronic items taken from your vehicle
- $0 deductible for accidents in a rental car
- Broad policy protection for anyone you allow to drive your vehicle
- Free ID defense
- Free pet injury coverage up to $1,000
- Holiday or summer skip payment options
- Exceptional towing and roadside assistance availability
However, we can help you in many other ways. Our advisors can also line you up with flood insurance and, in certain states, earthquake insurance. If you have a boat, classic car, RV, motorcycle or snowmobile, California Casualty can get you the insurance you need. We even offer pet health insurance that can save you thousands of dollars if something happens to your furry friend.
TAKEAWAY:
If you need flood and earthquake insurance, or coverage for your pet, boat, collectable car, motorcycle or summer and winter recreation vehicles, contact our Agency Services team at 1.877.652.2638 or email agencyservices@calcas.com. Also, please share your California Casualty experience with your colleagues and family members; we’d love to offer them the same quality insurance with the benefits that you are enjoying, visit www.calcas.com.
