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Course of Action (COA)
When you get around to developing your Emergency Action Plan you will need to develop alternate courses of action (COA’s) for every part of your plan.
Cooking
Gathering water
Evacuating
Sheltering
First Aid
Etc.
The important reason for having more than one way to do something is because your situation might demand it.
The primary reason behind everything you do should be the Safety, Health and Welfare of yourself, your family and loved ones. This is not negotiable.
Today’s Emergency
So today I am on my way home from work, driving down the highway with all of the other commuters, heading home, and minding my own business listening to an educational CD. Suddenly to my front is a slew of road rubbish. There does not appear to be anything too big or dangerous and evasion is not an option. The speed, and proximity of surrounding vehicles would make a radical lane change more dangerous, I have to go over it.
Wham… suddenly the car is listing to the right and an unsettling grinding noise is coming from beneath the car. I of course am thinking the worse, blown transmission, damaged axel or drive shaft.
Fortunately the cars behind me witnessed something and are giving way so I can get to the right and out of the traffic (good situational awareness). I come to a stop on top of an overpass cars are blowing by me at speed and I need to wait for a break in traffic to exit the vehicle. The driver side door is about three feet from the moving traffic.
I make it out and see that the right rear tire is flat, no fluids leaking from the transmission, and the drive shaft and axel appear to still be true. Relief, the transmission, axel and drive shaft are probably OK…
So, what is my Primary COA? I can change the tire. I’ve a spare the tools and experience. But the room needed is just too narrow between the car and the guard rail, the two ton jack won’t fit correctly and give me room to jack up the car (yep I have one in the back cargo area just for this type of event). But I also have concerns that someone will think I’m in the far right lane and will want to pull over to pass those slower cars in front of them. Changing the tire is not an option.
Secondary course of action. I know that there is a tire shop about two miles to my front, I bought the tires their about four months ago, should I drive there? No I’ll ruin the Mag doing that.
Alternate course of action, call AAA.
Now I am waiting on AAA. I’m leery about sitting in the car for the reason mentioned above, so I decide to stay out and well to the front of the vehicle (emergency flashers are on). I cannot jump the guardrail to avoid oncoming cars because it’s a 40 or 50 foot drop to an unforgiving frontage road.
Fortunately the tow truck arrived within about a half an hour of my service call. Props to the AAA dispatcher. I told her of the possible risks where I was and she put me on a priority status. Oh, he had to wait for some time until it was safe to exit his vehicle also.
Within 10-15 minutes or so we are at the tire shop, my tire is in stock and my Roadside Hazard Warrantee (another tool) covers a good portion of the cost for a new tire.
So where am I going with this experience? I had an emergency, I knew the options available to me because I already had a plan, and I chose the COA that was the best under the circumstances.
If you have to pull the trigger on a COA and it misses, you will need to fire again and again until you hit the target, make sure you have enough ammo.
When creating your unique Emergency Action Plan, be the Negative Nellie. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Only with a well thought out plan will you succeed. Any plan is better than no plan.
Until next time
“Be Safe”
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