Martinek, Carla wrote: >If you live anywhere where the temps hit freezing or below, you should >have a survival kit in your car. Up until a few years ago, I always had >one of these in my car. When I did the 8-hr drive from home to college >in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I wouldn't have dreamed of leaving >without it, but fortunately, I never had to use it. I think it's time >to put one together again. > > >
I often drove from Fairbanks to Anchorage with my family during the heart of the winter, when outside temps were 40-50 below nuthin and I always had a winter survival kit in the car. We thought nothing of the drive (365 miles over two mountain ranges) because it was a major highway with plenty of traffic (2-3 cars per hour and a couple of trucks). We had arctic gear, space blankets, extra gas, and several thick wool blankets with us for every trip. Every fall, the local newspaper had a special section on winterizing your vehicle and preparing for winter travel. Local television and radio stations stressed that cold weather can be deadly, so be prepared. As Tom says..."nature doesn't play games." A fun drive with the aurora dancing overhead can turn quickly into a tragedy for the unprepared, and every year there was at least one tragedy because someone took off in a light jacket for a short drive to their friends at 40 below and had car problems. These people were not ignorant, they just made a mistake. Abby made a comment about signage and gates. Good ideas, but they all cost money to acquire, install and maintain. The county where the Kim tragedy happened is one of the poorest in Oregon. They simply do not have the money or manpower (womanpower) to put up those warnings. Unfortunately, because of the lack of warnings they have at least one incident like this every year. As for the mapmaker...how many times have we put our stuff out for review only to find that our reviewers weren't as dedicated as we are to accuracy. I once edited a user guide that had technicians disconnected high voltage cables yet never told them to shut the system down and disconnect it from the main power source. When I questioned the lead engineer (who was also in charged of documentation), his response was "everyone knows they should do that first. besides, nobody reads that stuff anyway." Luckily, nobody did. Someone in the editing chain for the mapmaker may have decided that nobody would use those roads in the winter, so why clutter the map with "unnecessary" warnings. Al -- Al Geist Technical Writing, Online Help, Marketing Collateral, Web Design, Award Winning Videos, Professional Photography Voice/Msg: 802-658-3140 Cell: 802-578-3964 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> URL: www.geistassociates.com <http://www.geistassociates.com> (online portfolio/resume) See also: URL: www.geistimages.com <http://www.geistimages.com> (fine art prints for home for office, and note cards for all occasions) "When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not guilty."" Theodore Roosevelt ______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
