DO IT WITH FLARE(S)
Somewhere in the deep recesses of the trunk of your car, some safety flares might be lurking.
Good! Part of your solution is at hand. Just make sure those flares are stored where they can be accessed quickly. Consider this: If you have a breakdown and are pulled over at the side of the road, every moment you are exposed to traffic is more dangerous without a safety device.
Naturally, the first thing you need to do is light up those flares (three of them at 50-foot intervals, we are told) before you start to work on the car. Even if all you're doing is waiting for the tow truck, you still need some bright markings to keep the idiots from slamming into you.
We usually take a rather reserved view of statistics, favoring that famous quote by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (who was quoted by Mark Twain): "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics!" Nevertheless, the statistics indicate lives are saved by using those flares. Even for a minor stay on the road's shoulder, use them.
There's another safety issue with flares, however. They're hot, very hot. They will burn you or your clothing, so don't treat using a flare lightly. First, read the lighting instructions before you find yourself in a rainstorm and your glasses are all fogged up and you end up lighting the car or your hair on fire.
We've seen a great many flare substitutes. LED devices, reflectors, flags and so forth all have their places, but there is nothing we know of that will work in daylight or dark and pretty much any weather as well as a flare.
For example, we've looked at a product called "The Turbo Flare." The "Turbo" in the title is just lame merchandising hyperbole. It uses very bright LEDs -- light-emitting diodes -- that supposedly can be seen for miles. It's also built tough. The maker says it will operate even after being run over by a car.
OK, but The Turbo Flare costs $70. You can buy a bushel of flares for that price and never worry about the batteries going out.
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