Moving back to New Mexico has brought me back to a part of my childhood. I grew up in a large farmhouse about seven miles outside of town. After turning off the highway, we were about two miles down a country road with no street lights.
As it was then, our night drive home now features a dark few last miles, on a road that is also a bit narrow. If one were to break down or have a flat, it might be difficult to pull all the way off.
Enter the LED flare! Because I occasionally come home after dark, the Professor has been a bit concerned about my safety in this hypothetical situation. She loves me, and doesn’t want me – or our car, which she loves but fortunately not as much as she loves me – to get creamed in the dark by an unsuspecting motorist.
Yesterday, a set of LED flares something like this came in the mail:
They are rechargeable, and I’ve put them on my monthly to-do list to be charged every two months, though I’m guessing they hold a charge much longer than this. They have nine flashing patterns (which in my mind seems excessive) and a built-in flashlight. They will work for hours, rather than the 15-30 minutes I see listed on traditional flares.
There are many brands that are similar, and I’m not endorsing any particular brand. But I think this safety product is a big enough deal, and a big enough improvement over the old flares that burn, that I wanted to mention them here.
Safe driving to you! May neither you nor I ever be stuck on the roadside in need of such a product.