- Hi, I'm Amy Hagerman with Oklahoma State Extension.
I bet you spend a lot of time on the road this time of year
with your family, maybe going on vacation
or going to 4H events.
Maybe you're just going to the lake or working on your farm
or ranch, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself what
you can do if something unexpected happens?
Maybe your vehicle breaks down or severe weather happens
on the road.
Maybe somebody has a minor injury.
The best time to prepare is before the unexpected happens.
Today, we're gonna talk to three educators
about what you can do to get ready before hitting the road.
- My name is Tommy Puffinbarge.
I'm the extension educator in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.
And I want to talk to you about basic first aid today.
And first aid, while you're on the road,
could be as simple as a blister while you're walking
or a small cut while you're fishing at the lake.
However, it can also be something a little worse
as maybe a twisted ankle or a broken finger
while you're working on the farm
or at a recreational activity.
So, you can buy first aid kits for your vehicle
from the American Red Cross or you can get them
from your pharmacy or you can make a first aid kit.
So, a lot of us have everything we need
for that first aid kit right in our own home.
The first thing we really need to think about
is a container if we want to build it.
What kind of a container do we need?
Something that we prefer would be water tight.
Something that has a lid that can close.
And we wanna make sure that we marked that, first aid.
That way, if someone needs to get in our vehicle to find it,
they already know which box they're looking for.
What do we put in that first aid kit?
Well, we need a box of band-aids of various sizes,
shapes and assortment would be a great idea.
We need some gauze rolls of different widths or lengths.
Gauze pads, sterile gauze pads of different sizes
and shapes will be good to have in your basic first aid kit.
We need some waterproof adhesive tape
to help keep things on.
Some type of fiber bandage or we call vet wrap
will help hold things in place.
We'd like to see everybody have at least two pair
of nitrile gloves, preferably in a package that's sterile.
Alcohol prep pads to clean up things before we treat them.
Some type of antiseptic towelettes will be good
to have in your first aid kit.
A pair of tweezers and a small pair
of scissors, very beneficial.
And a cool pack or two is always good to have in your pack,
your first aid kit.
Now, if we're outside, whether we're doing
that sporting event, fishing or whatever,
we're outside, we might want to think about sunscreen.
We need to think about your SPF that you need.
Everybody has a different liking to what they like.
So, sunscreen is very valuable.
We need some antibiotic ointment of some type.
Just in case we get that burn or something,
we need some type of burn spray or a burn cream.
We also, in case we would get bitten by something,
we might need a sting and bite pad
or some type of anti-itch cream.
And, of course, we need our hand sanitizer.
One thing I wanna caution you about
is if you're using hand sanitizer and you're cooking
with an open fire, whether you're camping or whatever
or you're roasting smores, be careful that
you don't catch your hands on fire
with having a hand sanitizer.
Now, the other thing we wanna think about putting
in our first aid kit is any of our pain medications
that we think we might need, like a Tylenol or Motrin.
If we get motion sickness,
maybe we need some Dramamine in there.
And then if we have allergies,
are over the counter allergy medicines can be in there also.
The other thing we wanna make sure we do
with our first aid kit yearly is go through that kit,
make sure that our expiration dates are okay.
Nothing's out of date.
The next big thing that we want to put in our first aid kit
is an emergency first aid guide.
Now, the emergency first aid guide is something
that we recommend that everybody read through
and be familiar with it before you need it.
Because if you wait until you need it,
sometimes those events are stressful and we get nervous.
So, most communities offer a CPR class or basic first aid
and someone in your group would be very beneficial
to be go through that class that's gonna be with you
on your trip or your outing.
Next thing you need to make sure of
is wherever you're going,
make sure you know what the emergency services number is.
If it's other than 911,
we need to put those emergency numbers in the front
of our book, on the outside cover,
we need to put those in our phone.
We need to make sure where they're at
and everybody knows what they are
and then let's make sure we put this in our first aid kit.
And then, like I said, we're gonna put that in our box.
We're gonna close it.
And we have made our own basic first aid kit.
Commercial first aid kits come in all shapes and sizes.
But the biggest thing that we need to remember
is what fits our family or our group, the size of people,
the number of people that we're taking with us.
Now, the big important thing we're going to take home
from this, if you're hurt, if you're severely hurt
or injured, call 911 immediately.
Do not wait, do not wait, call 911.
We would rather have a false alarm
than to have something bad happening on down the road.
So, now that you know what goes
into a basic first aid, class.
Let's talk about your vehicle.
(upbeat music)
- Hi, my name is Augustus Holland.
I'm an AG of 4H Educator in Tulsa County.
I wanna talk to you today a little bit
about preparing your vehicle for a road trip.
So, we all know that we pack and get ready to go on trips.
So, we've prepared our clothes and stuff.
So, have you guys thought about preparing your vehicles?
So, the first thing I wanna visit with you guys about
is the things that you're gonna wanna keep on your person.
So, I carry a backpack that has a few clothes on it.
So, that's gonna be especially important
if you're gonna have an overnight trip.
You always wanna keep a flashlight with you.
You also wanna double check before your trip
that you make sure that the batteries are good
and maybe carry an extra set, okay?
A few other things that you're gonna wanna keep with you...
Are your first aid kit.
It's a good idea to have one bottle of water per person
in the vehicle.
You're also gonna wanna keep some granola bars
or some crackers in the vehicle.
Emergencies can happen at any time,
whether it's a weather related event
or whether you have a vehicle breakdown.
So, some other things that I wanna visit with you about
are keeping your vehicle prepared and things that you need
to bring and keep in your vehicle.
So, if you have a tire that goes down,
but you can still air it up,
it's good to keep an air compressor in the vehicle.
If you have a tire that's gone flat
and you absolutely have to change it,
then you need to make sure that you have a jack available.
So, this is one that comes with the vehicle.
There are also other forms in a bottle Jack
or you have some floor jacks that are good options.
You also need to make sure that you have a lug wrench
that fits the lugs on your vehicle.
So, here we have a four way,
what should fit in most vehicles,
but you need to double check to make sure
that it'll fit those vehicles.
Your vehicle should also come with a lug wrench
or break-over bar standard with your vehicle.
Jumper cables are very important to have with you as well,
in the case that you have a battery that goes dead
or you can't get your vehicle started.
These are good tools to keep in your toolbox.
A toolkit is another important piece of equipment
to have in your toolbox or in your vehicle.
In case you have a vehicle break down,
you have some wrenches or some pliers
to help mend some breaks and stuff that you may
or may not have.
A few other good things to keep would be duct tape,
cable ties or some baling twine or wire.
These can help get your vehicle repaired enough
to get it off the road or home
until you can get it fixed properly.
So, you guys may have some vehicles
that may burn a little bit of oil.
It would be important to have a quart of oil
in your vehicle as well.
I would also recommend for vehicles
that use water or antifreeze, especially on these hot days
that you might have that you keep a jug of antifreeze
in your vehicle.
So, the next important thing is
whenever you do have these disasters
or your vehicle breakdown, you wanna make sure
that you're getting your vehicle off the road.
So, the best thing you can do is get off at the next exit
or if you're in town somewhere, get off onto a safe road,
gas station, whatever you can get to.
But if you're on the interstate and don't have that option,
just make sure that you're getting off
of the curb far enough that you're not going
to be impeding traffic, but you're far enough off
that you can safely work on your vehicle.
So, it's important to have orange cones or reflectors
that you can set out behind your vehicle to show that,
hey, there's a vehicle up here and pay attention.
It would be also important
if you have some high visibility gear
that if you're out working on your vehicle,
that you put these on, so that people can see you.
Some other reflective things that might work
if you need to use them.
We also have a tarp here,
that's not necessarily as important to keep in the vehicle,
but it helps if you're needing to get on the ground
to work on your vehicle or if you need to cover something,
these are helpful to have as well.
Last thing I wanna show you
that I normally keep in a vehicle,
especially during the winter months
are a blanket and or a jacket.
So you wanna make sure that you're able to stay warm
if you get into a situation to where you're broke down
on the side of the road or you run into a weather event
that you need to stay warm with.
So, now that we're talking about storms or natural events
and unexpected weather, those can pop up at any time.
So, I'm gonna turn the floor over to Marty
and he's gonna give you some helpful tips
to be prepared for unexpected weather.
- Thank you, Gus.
I'm Marty Montague from the OSU Extension office
in Choctaw and Pushmataha counties in Southeast Oklahoma.
I'd like to visit with you just a couple of minutes
about being a little more weather aware
when you're traveling.
My friends have talked a little bit
about how to prepare your vehicle, how to be prepared,
how to be ready for the emergencies
that might come up on the road.
What I want to talk to you and visit with you about
is being aware of the weather,
both where you're leaving from, where you're going to,
but especially while you're on the road.
You know, there's a number of apps.
In fact, I have one that will follow the weather
wherever I go and that's important to give me a heads up,
whether the weather turns bad.
Whether that be icy conditions in the winter time
or whether that be severe thunderstorms and tornadoes
in the spring and summer months.
So be aware of that, find those apps, check out your route
and be aware of that.
Whenever you are traveling, if you run into a situation
that has bad weather, be thinking about where
you can find shelter, be aware of what you've just passed,
maybe the towns that you just come through
and find a place of shelter and wait the storm out.
If it requires you to do so, turn around and go back
to the last time that you did come through
and wait to storm out there.
One more thing, when you get to your final destination,
whether it be your hotel or your cabin,
look for the storm shelter.
If it's not clearly marked,
ask the clerk when you check in.
Also, if you are traveling during severe thunderstorms
and that sort of thing, just don't drive through water
that's covered the roadway.
Number one, we don't know for sure how deep the water is.
We can't see through it.
And number two, we're not sure the roadway's even there,
it may have already washed out.
So, we don't wanna drive through water
that we can't see through.
And also, we never, never drive across down power lines.
If there are power lines down, assume that they are hot
and don't do that.
There's a number of other things
to be a little bit more aware of and you can find that stuff
with the American Red Cross.
You can also find another list of that stuff
with your OSU Extension offices
and their disaster management website.
Be in touch with us and let us help
you become more weather aware.
(light guitar music)