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Old 02-18-2019, 05:47 PM   #1
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Safety flares, or ...

What do people carry or recommend for when things go wrong and you have to pull over (such as a flat).

What do you use to warn other drivers — safety flares or something else?

I don't carry anything, but I'm thinking I need to fix that.
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Old 02-18-2019, 06:15 PM   #2
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Got a set of battery powered flares. The pyrotecnic type age out and require disposal. The battery type just need a power refresh. It's not quite that simple, but represents the logic with which I proceeded.

Reflector triangles are a good night time alternative. Use your emergency flashers.

Following to see if others have a better idea. Thanks for asking. Pat
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Old 02-18-2019, 06:17 PM   #3
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Safety triangles

Go to any truck stop and pick up a set of reflective Triangles. They will be in a red plastic box about 18" long. It will contain 3 triangles. If you break down place the first triangle 10' behind vehicle, walk back another 30/40' and place #2, another 30/40 feet for #3. I have 20 years driving Class 8 trucks. Safety flares are required equipment.
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Old 02-18-2019, 07:02 PM   #4
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I have and use flares
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:05 AM   #5
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Bought mine at Pep Boys. Always have them and many states require them.
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:18 AM   #6
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I carry railroad fuses, as well as turbo flares.
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:27 AM   #7
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Railroad fuses .... ????
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:30 AM   #8
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When I had a flat on my truck along the Interstate in Texas, I used the triangle reflectors and the trucks seemed to take pleasure in running them over. Now I carry flares with a metal rod in the bottom (Nail ? )to stand them up. Guess what ? They seem to want to avoid them at all cost.
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:33 AM   #9
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Wow - Always learn something when the investigation hat gets used. Have considered flares appropriate, but never thought they were a requirement for private vehicles and RVs. So I pulled up DIYRV and they had a list. We have only seen towing speed limits in CA, but their list has a bunch of states with towing speed limits. Texas and Illinois are even included. Now I need to do some more research on what is required for flares and reflectors as well as if the DIYRV is accurate about speed limits. Wow - Pat

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/state-towing-speeds/
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:57 AM   #10
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Yeh, there are a lot of safety laws no one knows about, especially when traveling out of state. We have some triangles and red cones, but never have used them. Do anything you can to get as far from the road as possible—that’s more important.

I recall when we were in Minnesota some years ago a cop was being prosecuted for not putting out safety warning stuff. Something bad happened and she was in lots of trouble. Of course, cops are supposed to know those laws and set a good example. I have noticed that every year one or two cops are injured in Colorado when walking to and from their car to something along the edge of the highway. One of my great fears is having to change a tire at the edge of the road. I’d rather ruin a tire limping along to a wide spot.
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Old 02-19-2019, 11:05 AM   #11
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Railroad fuses are bigger brighter and burn longer.
Nothing special other than super sized.
Bought a box of them 30 years ago, and still have more than a hundred!
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Old 02-19-2019, 11:32 AM   #12
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We rarely travel at night with the trailer so we don't carry flares... We do have 2 boxes (3 each box) of the collapsable triangles...we have used them and they work well. They are weighted to stay in place while those small plastic orange cones are useless. They just get blown around by passing traffic. The larger cones are probably better, but then there is a storage issue.
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:17 PM   #13
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FWIW harbor freight has a cheap set of reflective triangles for like $5....
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Old 02-19-2019, 02:11 PM   #14
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Railroad flares have a spike in bottom, if they are in traffic lane or left after use they are dangerous as they can and will rip side wall of tire and can cause blow outs. When lighting have to be careful as can cause severe burns also can cause fires. I was rr conductor for 36 yrs & have seen all these things plus a crew member was blinded and face scarred when held toward face when lighting. A county mountie placed in road when at accident then caused another accident when run over plus I have seen Il. state police place in road and leave them when burned out. I recommend battery warning lights and triangles, be cause average person does not no of these things that can happen, so be careful if using flares and pur. ones that don't have spikes.
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Old 02-19-2019, 02:42 PM   #15
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Those railroad flares are fusees. Fusee for one flare. They work but left after an incident can cause damage to other motorist's vehicle.
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Old 02-19-2019, 03:44 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WhereStream View Post
What do people carry or recommend for when things go wrong and you have to pull over (such as a flat).

What do you use to warn other drivers — safety flares or something else?

I don't carry anything, but I'm thinking I need to fix that.
Drive to the nearest exit. Don’t risk your life changing a flat on the freeway (I know, everyone still will). Trying to “warn” 70mph traffic is futile.
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Old 02-19-2019, 04:10 PM   #17
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I have used flares in the past. The long ones last 30 minutes, the shorter ones about half that time. They are very bright day and night, but they do have a 4-year shelf life after which they may not operate as expected. The flame does present some safety hazards as well as the noxious smoke and some have expressed concerns of the chemical ash left to wash into the soil. I have used expired flares as a campfire starter, but also keep in mind nearby campers who are down wind from my fire pit.

Triangles are easily seen in the day and require no batteries and don’t present the hazard flares do, the LED beacons are probably better than triangles after dark but the triangles are highly reflective. Inexpensive beacons may not be as bright or reliable as the higher priced ones. As all things with batteries, beacons that aren’t checked or charged regularly may not be useful when the need arises.

Following is a link to a document that goes into some detail about the various safety signals.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/224277.pdf
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Old 02-19-2019, 05:08 PM   #18
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The railroad fusees I have are the handheld signalling type. There is no nail. Nothing is left behind other ash and a small waxed paper tube marked Pennsylvania Railroad.
It wouldn't be very nice to leave nails behind would it?
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Old 02-19-2019, 05:47 PM   #19
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Beside safety devices, use another person to stand off to the side and wave, and also warn you of vehicles coming to close. It saved my life.......
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Old 02-19-2019, 05:54 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uraljohn View Post
Go to any truck stop and pick up a set of reflective Triangles. They will be in a red plastic box about 18" long. It will contain 3 triangles. If you break down place the first triangle 10' behind vehicle, walk back another 30/40' and place #2, another 30/40 feet for #3. I have 20 years driving Class 8 trucks. Safety flares are required equipment.


I bought those and they are of great quality and will still do their work in a windy day. The best is that you don’t have to worry about batteries to be sure they work. You can get them on Amazon for a great price.
Read the review and you can’t go wrong with that purchase
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