Cold temperatures and icy roads can create hazards for drivers. Are you and your vehicle prepared for these hazards? Do your best to make this winter driving season is a safe one.

At AMSkier Insurance, we recommend taking precautions to help protect you and your car in the worst winter weather conditions.

Before You Hit the Road

The cold, snow and ice can make driving dangerous if your vehicle is not properly maintained. Here are some things you can do to get your car ready for winter:

• Make sure all scheduled maintenance is up-to-date. Have your mechanic check fluids and hoses to help reduce the risk of a mechanical breakdown.
• Ensure that your tires are in good condition, properly inflated and have ample tread. If you live in an area where heavy snow is common, consider having snow or winter tires installed.
• Make sure your heater and window defrosters are working properly.
• Check that your lights and windshield wipers are operating properly and that your washer fluid reservoir is full.
• Make sure your battery is in good condition. Even a newer battery can fail if it gets cold enough.
• Make sure your gas tank is full and your phone is charged. In bad weather, the major roads could be backed up for hours or closed.

Create a Winter Survival Kit for Your Car

If you drive in remote areas or are planning a long trip, keep a winter survival kit in your car. While some of these items may be appropriate all year long, these supplies can help you deal with winter weather. Your kit should include:

• Safety emergency blanket.
• Clothing essentials such as extra coats, sweatshirts or warm sweaters, and gloves.
• Security items such as a flashlight, candles, small knife and waterproof matches.
• Water and non-perishable snacks such as energy bars or trail mix.
• First-aid kit.
• Ice scraper.
• Sand and salt.
• Snow shovel to help dig your car out if you get stuck.
• Jumper cables (make sure you know how to use them.)
• Tow rope/strap.
• Brightly colored cloth to tie to the outside of your car if your car gets stuck and you need to call for help.

We know that winter can create challenging conditions for drivers. But we also know that adequate preparation can help keep you safe even under the worst weather conditions.

We encourage you to drive carefully in adverse weather conditions and to avoid driving in blizzard conditions unless you absolutely have to.

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A gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 at a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday morning in the deadliest mass shooting in American history. The shooter was a lone gunman. Just last year, 5 young men were arrested for driving recklessly through a Pennsylvania Jewish summer camp, firing paintballs and spewing anti-Semitic slurs. It’s not too hard to imagine how these angry men could have taken their hate to the next level. In Norway, on July 22, 2011, two political extremists and sequential lone gunmen killed 77 at a Workers Youth League-run summer camp.

Every time a mass shooting occurs, we recognize that no one is immune from this danger, no matter your religion, race, gender-identity, sexual orientation or sex. Everyone needs to be prepared.

The tragic shooting in Orlando once again has drawn national attention to security. As camp season begins, we bring you Alan Cooper’s 2013 Broad & Bright, which outlined preventative measures camps can take to improve security.

On June 4th AMSkier presented a forum on camp security. With just days to go before the start of camp, a packed house spent 90 minutes with Wayne County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Janine Edwards, Wayne County Detective and former Pennsylvania State Police Barracks Commander Lieutenant Jamie Schultz, AMSkier General Counsel Alan Cooper, and AMSkier Partner Norman Friedman, gathering ideas for addressing security issues for the summer of 2013 and beyond.

All agreed that the main goal is to make your camp an unattractive target. The most likely form of security issue – and the one most easily preventable – comes from an individual with a specific ax to grind against you or someone in your camp, or small local group looking for some excitement. There is still time to take action prior to the 2013 camp season to minimize this risk by considering the following:

• HAVE A PLAN so that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency. Of course a plan has no value if your staff is not aware of it and has not practiced its execution. Just as you have fire drills or tornado drills, you should have “intruder drills.” At a minimum the plan should include who goes where, who calls who, how is the rest of the camp notified, where are the safest places to take the children, and anything else unique to your setting.
• Posting your property – The perimeter of your property should be posted. Camps in remote areas should post signs leading up to your property giving the public fair notice that they are about to enter private property.
• Install video cameras at strategic points. Include signs warning would be trespassers that the area is under surveillance.
• Install some form of entry gate.
• Utilize twenty-four hour security. This should include at least one person at the gate and one person roving the property. All security personnel should have at least two forms of communication.
• Using armed security personnel? Whether armed with firearms or less lethal weaponry such as tasers or pepper spray, this important decision should be discussed at length as there are substancial risks to doing so. In addition most states require extensive training and certifications before security personnel can be armed.
• Establish visitor policy and procedures to take notice of any strangers on campus and to take appropriate action. For staff this could include a friendly encounter asking if they can help the person and then reporting anything suspicious. For campers it could simply mean informing his or her counselor.
• Be sure to conduct background checks on all employees, including local support staff.
• Enlist the support of your neighbors. Your neighbors are the eyes and ears of the community and should not feel bashful about calling you to report anything that appears out of the ordinary. Of course this requires taking steps to ensure good relations in your community.
• At some point each camp should enlist the aid of a professional to create its own security plan. If you have not done so for 2013, you can still implement the above steps for the upcoming summer. Make sure to undertake your diligence. A number of so called “experts” have popped up in response to the current security climate. In addition, interviewing your key personnel can provide insights into your security strengths and weaknesses.

With proper attention to security planning and particularly communication, nightmares can often be avoided. Let’s strive to make the summer camp experience happy, safe and secure for all our campers, staff and visitors.

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Concerns about the Zika virus have spiked this year as the World Health Organization declared Zika a global public health emergency and hundreds of cases were reported in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel guidance for pregnant women to postpone travel to Zika-affected countries.

For camp directors and for anyone responsible for the care of others it’s important that focus remains on mosquito prevention. Here are some important facts to know about the Zika virus and on mosquito prevention.

•       The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito and can make anyone sick for up to a week with fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, and other symptoms. But it’s especially dangerous for women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy because it increases the risk of babies born with microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and incomplete brain development.
•       There is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease or drug to treat it, making it essential that people avoid mosquito bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
•       The CDC emphasizes that avoiding mosquito bites requires multiple strategies, such as wearing long-sleeved pants and shirts when outdoors. But it says that mosquito repellents are essential, too.
•       “Using an insect repellent is one of the best ways you can protect yourself from Zika and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes,” says Harry Savage, chief of ecology and entomology activity at the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.
•       And Consumer Reports’ tests showed that some repellents worked much better than others at protecting against the type of mosquitoes that transmit Zika.

According to Consumer Reports, the top Aedes mosquito insect repellents were composed of 20 percent picardin and kept mosquitos from biting for 8 hours. Specifically, the top performing products were Sawyer Picardin and Natrapel 8 Hour.

Products with IR3535 (Ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate) didn’t make Consumer Reports list of recommended sprays. Neither did repellents with 2-Undecananone or those that contained 7 percent deet or less than 20 percent picaridin.

They also advise skipping most products made with natural plant oils, such as California Baby Natural Bug Blend (a blend of citronella, lemongrass oil, cedar oil, and other ingredients) and EcoSmart Organic, (which includes geraniol, rosemary oil, cinnamon oil, and lemongrass oil). They did not last for more than 1 hour against Aedes mosquitoes, and some failed almost immediately.

At AMSkier Insurance, we care very much about the safety and health of our insured as well as the preparedness of our camp directors. If you found this article relevant, you would really enjoy our regularly scheduled SKI-Way blog which features the opinions of AMSkier Partners, Camp Directors and other experts on issues that are important to camps. These blogs and podcasts offer helpful information for Camp Directors and Counselors on a wide range of issues, including how to protect campers and camps from sexual predators, handling transgender issues and minimizing the unlimited amount of risk involved in operating a summer camp. If you are interested in insuring your camp, business or personal belongings with us, please contact us.

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