It’s one of the most terrifying situations an RV traveler can experience. It’s also among the most deadly. And it’s something that happens to almost everyone, sooner or later. That’s why we carry this $7 purchase (http://goo.gl/ssLBho). You know you will need it someday; the only question is when.
What situation are we discussing, and why is it so terrifying?
Here's the Neiko vest in EXTRA LARGE. You may want to go up a size since this vest is meant to be work over other clothing, including coats and jackets. (Click the pic for more info.)
Surely we must be concerned with homicide, or war, or grizzly bear attack? My goodness – is it ebola?
Not so fast, my friends. Let’s consider some statistics.
We have about 319 million people living in the United States (many of them legally).
Every year in the United States, 127 people die in military conflict.
16,259 die due to homicide.
Grizzly bear attack? Well, yes, there are usually a couple of annual deaths due to bear attack. Let’s chalk up 2 for the bears.
Oh, and one more thing: what about traffic accidents? Hmmm. Well, now that you mention it, that topic does merit some concern. 33,561 people die every year in traffic accidents.
Yes, more Americans die in traffic accidents than war, homicide, and grizzly bear attack combined.
But what about ebola? The media wants to hype ebola as the latest and greatest Monster From Out of Town.
Is ebola a scary disease? Yes, it certainly sounds like an unpleasant way to die.
So far in the United States, 1 person has died from ebola. One.
But what about worldwide? Isn’t ebola a plague of, well, black plague proportions?
Not exactly. The black plague killed somewhere between 70 and 200 million people. Ebola has killed 4500 persons worldwide.
By contrast, traffic accidents kill 1.24 million people worldwide every year.
Have you gotten the point yet? Your odds of dying in a traffic accident are much greater than almost any other unnatural cause. We should be outraged and concerned about our daily trips to the grocery store.
That “terrifying situation” we were mentioning earlier? It’s being stranded on the side of the road due to a tire or mechanical problem. It happens to literally everyone at some point in life. In fact, it happens to most of us many times during the course of our lifetimes. It’s always dangerous, sometimes extremely so.
Why are we so certain? Because death, taxes, and car problems are inevitable. It’s only a matter of time before we suffer a flat tire or mechanical problem that leaves us stranded.
Yet we hop into our vehicles every day and venture onto the tarmac. It’s gotta be done. Our entire society is built around the automobile. It’s tough to take an RV road trip without getting on the road.
How to avoid death by traffic accident? Well, there are few guarantees in life, but there are certain steps we can take that will boost our odds of safe travel.
In addition to driving defensively, wearing seatbelts, never texting, and avoiding Miami during rush hour, we carry safety gear. Because we know the day will come when we are stranded by the side of the road.
That’s why we carry a Neiko High Visibility Neon Safety Vest. This is a comfortable reflective safety vest that’s designed to easily fit over other clothing.
It’s made of a breathable mesh fabric that’s lightweight and stays cool in warm weather.
The Neiko vest is a highly visible neon green color, and it’s equipped with 2-inch reflective strips.
The vest meets ANSI requirements (yes, apparently there is an organization that establishes standards for obscure products like neon green safety vests).
This is the sort of vest you see highway construction workers wearing.
In many countries, these safety vests are required by law for anyone working on a vehicle near a highway.
Sure, we subscribe to a roadside assistance service that will help us change tires roadside and so forth. But roadside assistance isn’t always quick to help. In fact, we’ve had situations in which roadside assistance has declined to help!
While it’s a totally different topic of discussion, you simply can’t rely on roadside assistance to always ride to your rescue. Sometimes the cavalry declines to come. That’s when you find yourself standing by the side of the road as traffic whizzes past.
There will always be times in our travels when we are required to step outside our rig to inspect the vehicle.
This is a cheap investment that dramatically increases roadside safety. (CLICK THE PIC for more info.)
MORE STATISTICS
Every year in the United States, more than 4000 pedestrians are struck by passing vehicles and killed.
More than 70,000 pedestrians are injured by passing vehicles.
It stands to reason that whenever you are a pedestrian in the vicinity of passing traffic, you want to be as visible as possible. A safety vest really helps achieve this goal.
These Neiko vests are cheap, comfortable, and dramatically increase safety during an emergency roadside stop.
There are few purchases in life that are true “no brainers,” but this is one. It’s cheaper than a pizza, yet it dramatically increases highway safety.
And speaking of pizza, I’d recommend you order a size larger than usual. That’s because it’s designed to loosely fit on top of other clothing. (My own size fluctuates between large and extra large, depending on monthly pizza intake.)
We not only got a vest for ourselves, we got one to give as a gift. Really, it makes sense to carry one of these vests in every vehicle you own.