It’s that time of year when heading out on adventures can get downright dirty. Regular downpours of rain can lead to parking lots at your favorite hiking spots turning from firm, dirt-packed areas to mud puddles. It’s not such a problem on a hike. You simply bring a change of footwear, make sure your car is equipped with a good set of all-weather mats and typically it’s no big deal. But what happens if you return from that glorious hike to find your car’s tires have sunk down into the mud? Stay calm, we’ve got tips for what to do if your car gets stuck in mud.
- First off, reduce the weight inside of the vehicle by having passengers stand a safe distance away from the car.
- Make sure tires have room to move by turning the steering wheel back and for.
- Get the car into a gentle rocking motion by moving between forward gears and reverse to get some momentum, but don’t do this for a long period of time.
- Put your car into second gear if you have a manual transmission, or the lowest gear if you drive an automatic and use low revs to drive.
- If your tires can’t get a grip you could place car mats beneath them to get things going.
- Push very gently on the accelerator until you can get some traction.
- Drive very slowly to remove excess mud from your tires.
- When you’re out of the muddy area, pull over to firm ground and check your vehicle is safe before you continue on with the journey.
We hope your car doesn’t get stuck in mud, but if it does you’ll be prepared and ready to enjoy the journey. Happy adventuring!
