Keep A Communications Backup Plan On Long Trips

Vacations, moving to a new home or visiting someone across the country by car is an amazing way to see the country while keeping the travel under your control. Anything can happen on the road, so it's important to be prepared with a bit of extra food and some car repair tools. Along with the traditional car repair preparation, the modern age has delivered mobile devices and even mobile Internet along with smartphones that can communicate with others easier than ever. To use these devices for safety and preparedness, take a look at a few communications backup plan tips to make sure you're not completely isolated after a road trip disaster. 

Backup Battery Plan

To keep communications clear and consistent throughout your trip, you'll need more than just your phone and a single battery. Smartphones and other mobile devices may not last as long as older phones because of everything that goes on within the device--after all, you're not actually using a single phone device. You're using a handheld computer with a small phone function.

Although every phone is different and every person's phone habits can affect battery life, it's a good idea to have 3 extra batteries to last throughout the day. Even after calling a towing service, you may want to look up local accommodations or update your directions if you're confused about the area.

Proper battery care is important as well. Unfortunately, you can't just throw the batteries in a box or in the cup holder. Don't place the batteries in direct sunlight or expose them to excessive heat, as the batteries can swell and even explode (a pop and fizzle, but an explosion nonetheless). Consider keeping the batteries and their charger in a cardboard box outside of sunlight.

Map Outage Areas For Emergency Communications

Despite the seemingly advanced nature of modern technology, the world is not a perfectly, fully-connected network. Small, technologically-advanced nations such as Japan have areas with no coverage, and the United States has even bigger expanses of cellular blackout areas.

Most drivers will be on stretches of highway and interstate during their trip, but these areas may lack communications as well. If you're increasing your communications risks by traveling through small towns and rural areas, be sure to map out the communications area beforehand.

Sites such as Opensignal have maps showing outages and areas with no cell coverage at all. Outages can happen at any time and can't be easily planned before a trip, but permanent outage areas called dead zones can be easily avoided or at least mapped.

The point of mapping these areas is to know how far you need to go in order to reach coverage again. If at all possible, avoid going through such areas for extended periods of time. If that area is a place you'd like to visit, be sure to let someone know before you enter the area.

For towing, you'll need to give accurate directions of where you are once you leave the outage area, so be sure to memorize any landmarks or take a few pictures of the area. Don't take too many pictures, as you may deplete precious battery reserves.

Stay in contact with others, keep your emergency contacts ready, and be sure to contact a towing service (such as Mark's Towing, Inc.) if your vehicle is inoperable as soon as possible. Any preparation can be wasted if you wait for too long.

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