Was your morning drive quick and easy? The drive home could be completely different!
We are here to help with some tips on how to drive safe in severe weather.
Before we get to the tips, let’s go over a few important definitions:
When a lots of rain falls, the water pools into puddles, and puddles can be dangerous to drive through. High speeds and wet road conditions can make you lose control; when this happens you are Hydroplaning.
Flash Freeze Warnings are issued when temperatures are likely to drop rapidly causing rain or melted snow to quickly freeze.
Water that freezes and cannot be seen on the road is called Black Ice. This type of ice is particularly dangerous because you can’t tell it’s there until you are sliding on it.
Now that we’ve reviewed those, we want to make sure you get home safe and sound. So, without further ado here are some tips to follow for before, during, and after your drive.
Before your Drive:
Make sure your windshield, windows, and roof are clear of any ice and even debris that may have fallen on your vehicle.
Use your defrosters so that you can actually see out of your windshield and windows while you are driving.
Have a few essentials in case of an emergency – warm clothing, a cell phone + charger, extra windshield washer fluid, and jumper cables are a good start.
During your Drive:
Slow and steady is the most important thing to remember when road conditions aren’t perfect. It’s much easier to hydroplane at high speeds, and it’s much harder to stop if there is ice on the road.
Leave extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you at all times in case you have to stop unexpectedly. Even with winter tires, your stopping distance is increased by icy conditions.
Let the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) do it’s job! Don’t try to pump the brakes if you are in a straight slide. Just hold your foot down on the brake and you’ll hear the brakes quickly pulse and pump automatically.
After your Drive:
If it looks like there may be more freezing rain or snow it’s always a good idea to lift your wiper blades up so your job is easier in the morning. You’ll find cleaning your windshield is much easier with them up and out of the way!
Even if you follow all of these tips, an emergency or accident can still occur, but now you are prepared and might even be able to help others in need.
If you know a driver that could use a refresher of these tips, feel free to share the link with them. And, if you want to learn more about the road conditions you can check out road and weather conditions on the below links.
Drive Safe Friends!
A few weeks ago, the owner of dbi Brokers Ltd, Larry Brown, nominated the Lisaard House for the a giving Tuesday fundraiser. Gore Mutual Insurance Company was set to give away $5000 donations to a nominated charities and organizations. The selections for the donations were being made by Gores employees, and they ended up selecting Larry’s nomination.
Gore and Larry presented the Lisaard house with a $5000 donation, and that’s a great story in itself. This is the real story and background info on why this isn’t just a random donation.
The Lisaard/Innisfree House provide comfort, care, and closure to patients and loves ones through the end of life journey. Above from left to right are Larry Brown of dbi Brokers Ltd, Margot Vanderlaan of the Lisaard House, and Liz Santo of Gore.
To start let’s look at how dbi Brokers Ltd came to be:
Dalrymple Insurance started in 1931 when Ayr native Gordon S. Dalrymple established a small insurance agency out of his home. For years Mr. Dalrymple grew his business in Waterloo Region, Brant County, and Oxford County. As the business grew he decided to sell part of his business to a Paris resident – Murray Burns. From this, Burns Insurance was created in downtown Paris.
As Mr. Dalrymple’s business continued to grow throughout Waterloo Region, and Oxford County, he brought on other agents who shared the load. Recognizing the potential in one of the agent, Dalrymple made Jack Brown a partner in the 1960’s.
Time passed and Mr. Dalrymple retired, but the business continued to grow. Some of Jack’s relatives were brought in forming a family business. Jack retired in the early 90’s and left the company in the hands of four family members who all worked out of the Ayr office.
Later in the 90’s a familiar name came back into play – Burns Insurance Service in Paris. The Burns brothers were looking to sell their business, and couldn’t think of a better fit than the brokerage who got them into the insurance game in the first place. It was an easy transition from Waterloo Region to Brant County, and a few of the Dalrymple partners simply switched offices from Ayr to Paris.
Fast forward nearly 20 years and all of the Dalrymple family partners are retired except for Jack Brown’s son, Larry.
2016 was a big year for Larry and Dalrymple and Burns Insurance brokerages as they went through a re-branding phase. Instead of having a Burns Insurance Service, and Dalrymple Insurance Brokers operating somewhat separately, they were combined to create dbi (Dalrymple Burns Insurance) Brokers Ltd. Later in 2016, seizing more local opportunity dbi Brokers Ltd expanded to Simcoe in Norfolk County, and Goderich in Huron County.
That’s the History, and this is why it means so much to us:
As mentioned earlier in the story, Jack Brown was one of the successors of Mr. Dalrymple. What wasn’t mentioned is that Jack is no longer with us; after he retired he lost his battle with cancer in 2001. In his final weeks of his life, he and his family were cared for and comforted by the staff at Lisaard House. Having personally experienced their caring and respectful service, the family brokerage is honored and extremely grateful to have Larry’s nomination selected by Gore. We would again like to thank Lisaard House for their exceptional service, and also thank Gore for this most generous donation.
