Safety update: Stranded and Alone - How to keep safe and get help fast

Imagine this scenario: One night you’re driving home from netball training and the kids are fighting in the back seat of the car. There are two ways you can drive home: the long way in a well populated area, or the short way which is along an isolated road without lighting.

Exhausted, cold and hungry you decide to go the short way – something you never usually do at night – in an effort to get everyone home quickly. As you are halfway along the dark, remote road you hear a thud, a clunk and realise that one of the tyres on the car has gone flat. Great! Just what you needed!

Here are some tips to help you keep calm, safe and get help as quickly as possible:

• Although this may be obvious, avoid travelling on isolated roads at night if possible. Breaking down in a well-populated area is not nearly as bad. If you are low on petrol or have had car trouble in the past, always choose a well-populated route.

• Ensure your mobile phone is always charged and have a back-up charger in the car for emergencies.

• If you do find yourself stranded, try and keep calm so your children don’t start to get anxious. They can easily pick up on signs of panic and you don’t need them to be freaking out in addition to having to solve car troubles!

• If you know someone who is nearby, call them first to come and pick you up. You can always deal with the car later by calling roadside assistance or attending to it the next day.

• Stay in the car and use a blanket to keep yourself and the kids warm till help arrives.

• If a passing motorist offers help, it’s best not to get out of the car to talk to them, just to be safe. Instead, tell them that you are fine and have help coming right away. Keep your mobile phone in your hand and call the police if you feel unsafe.

Although it’s not pleasant to think about the possibility of being in this situation, a little thought and planning can be the difference between a smooth ride home and a stressful emergency.

Tune up your driving with these great apps!

We live in an age of seamless connectivity.

These days drivers expect their car to connect to their smartphone (or other device), so that it can instantly provide all the information, communication and entertainment they could want to their fingertips.

But that’s not all. Did you know that you can use the power of technology to improve your driving habits, or to optimize your car for better performance?

We've compiled a list of our three favourite apps that can help you track your car’s overall performance, provided you have a smartphone (Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, HTC, Motorola, etc.). There are plenty of apps for cars out there with varying emphasis on safety, driving experience and maintenance - but these are our picks to get you started!

• aCar: With more than a million downloads so far from Google Play, this car management app is an ideal tool for car owners who want to track and keep records of fuel efficiency, mileage, fill-ups, services, expenses and trips. Check out aCar on Google play.
• Torque Pro: Torque Pro is a powerful app that you can utilize to optimize your car's performance. One good feature of this app is that it allows you to see you what your car is doing in real-time! You can also get OBD fault codes, performance info, sensor data and more from this application. In order to fully use this app; you’ll need an OBD II Bluetooth adapter. Check out Torque Pro on Google play.
•  iOnRoad: If driving safety is one of your major concerns (and it should be!), then iOnRoad is for you. This app uses your phone camera, GPS and sensors to detect vehicles in front of your car. It maps object in front of the driver in real-time, calculates the driver’s current speed, and alerts the driver of coming danger! iOnRoad is fully loaded with heaps of features; you can check it out here.