What should you do in Canada if you have car trouble on a road with no wireless phone signal?

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*ajidamoon* the Eh team

Well, I live in Northern Ontario. Minus 50 is a pretty regular temperature in winter, once you ad in wind chill. I have a Jumper pack in my truck, as well as cables to connect to another car. I also have an emergency kit, with blankets, flares, water, rad fluid, washer fluid, oil, tools, and a sign to go in the window if my hazard lights fail. I have stopped many times to help stranded motorists, if only to call a tow for them, or help change a tire. I feel confident that someone would also stop to help me, as we Canadians take care of each other. I would not "hitch" for help. I would ask a stranger kind enough to stop, if they would not mind calling for a tow at the next phone available.
*Your battery does not freeze. Plugging in your car ensures that your oil stays warm and liquid enough to travel well through the engine. It is also bad to leave your car plugged in too long, as it uses up the oil faster. Good rule of thumb in a Northern Canadian winter is to have your oil changed more frequently, to ensure its at optimal condition.

David H

I have lived in Alberta and know what your speaking about, first for that reason alone I would pack and emergency kit, you know blanket, chocolate bars, candles, road flares, road salt, a shovel and batteries for a flashlight or portable radio CD player with AM-FM unit.

Always tell someone were your headed and when you will arrive there and home again, and if the situation happens and your late they can retrace your route and find you, in a remote area the flares may attract attention by RCMP or a Farmer in the distance seeing a red glow in the air. Just be as prepared as possible if the chance of the happening are more than 10%.

Dian- Editor of girlsgetaway.com

This happened to us in northern New Brunswick last winter. We were stuck on a trucker/forestry road in the middle of the woods. No houses for miles and miles (one hour drive from the closest village). No cell reception of course! In Canada you should always keep emergency supplies in the car - a blanket, candles and food (energy bars, water, etc). You should stay with the car, someone will stop to help you, I can almost guarantee this - especially in a less populated area, they always look out for each other. A transport truck stopped for us within a half hour and drove my husband to the next village, he called CAA, they came and got the car started....

Karen C

Why would you be driving around in -50 weather in Northern parts of any Province? Locals know each other and watch out for each other. People up that way on business let other people know they are there and where they are going in case of car trouble and the police do work up there and patrol. Smart people have emergency kits in their cars.

This scenario turning bad is one we hear of happening most often on Mountain roads in the U.S.A. that have been closed for the winter and are left unpatrolled.

Edit: See David's answer for what to put in an emergency kit.

SteveN

First off, in Canada the most common issue you may have in winter is that your car won't start properly in cold weather. You crank and crank and the engine is just too cold, and so you could flood the engine and/or kill the battery. Normally, the battery does not freeze. But if your car is the type that has problems starting in cold weather, you may need a block heater installed, which can be plugged in at your house or at many hotel/motel parking lots. (To give you an example, my 93 Nissan Sentra needed a block heater in winter because it died twice on me in cold weather, while my 01 Saturn has had no problems whatsoever, even on the coldest winter day)

Since most people do not stop on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and let their engine cool down to -50, you will likely be at a motel/hotel where you can easily arrange for help.

But let's say that you are driving in a remote country road and you run out of gas or the engine dies on you. What do you do? Pretty much the same you would do if the car died in a remote part of Nevada, or on a rarely used logging road in Montana. You either wait and hope someone comes along soon that you can flag down for help, or you try to walk to the next inhabited area to get help.

In Canada, most people who are at risk of being stranded in the middle of nowhere are prepared. They will bring a warm blanket, a candle and matches, emergency flares, a flashlight, and maybe some bottled water and a snack like granola bars.

Even in Montreal area, my car rarely leaves the house without a blanket, gloves, a shovel, and some roadsalt in a bucket in the trunk. The last thing I want is to slip off the road into a snowbank and have to be stuck there for an hour or two while I wait for the CAA tow truck to arrive.

Willster

I have a survival kit in my car that would allow me to stay alive and reasonably comfortable for three or four days. Every year, I check it.

Karen L

If you're in a place cold enough that your battery will die if you stop long enough, or if you're not sure your car will start again in the cold, you keep the engine running. Therefore, you keep the gas tank full as much as possible. If you're driving on a road which is so deserted that no one is likely to come along before you freeze to death, you make sure someone knows when to expect you so they can go look for you if you don't arrive. And you keep all the emergency stuff in the car that will help keep you alive until help comes or allow you to walk out a reasonable distance in the cold though you're usually better off staying with the car since at least it offers shelter and is more visible to anyone looking for you. Other posters have given good lists. I'm sure people in some of the northern US states run into weather that calls for these measures.

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