The glove compartment is an often overlooked and underused component of most cars. When used to its potential, your car’s glove compartment can hold a wealth of valuable information and resources. If you are ever in an accident or your car breaks down, you want to make sure that emergency services numbers and your insurance information are close at hand.

Your cell phone is often a lifeline in times of emergency, but it will serve little purpose if the battery dies. Keep a car charger in your glove box for those times when your phone needs a battery boost. While you’re in the electronics store, look for a small GPS unit and car adapter as well. It could save you if you make a wrong turn and suddenly find yourself hours out of your way.

In terms of personal safety and protection, add a small first aid kit, an umbrella and a pair of driving gloves. Why gloves, you ask? To protect your hands if you have to use a glass breakage bar, which you should also keep in the glove box.

You should also add your insurance cards to the glove box. If you need auto insurance, contact PMA Insurance Services in Chantilly, VA at (703) 449-1327.

Granted, when most people think of deer season, they think about hunters roaming the woods, wearing day-glo orange vests and trying to bag a buck with the largest rack of antlers possible. However, for other people, it means paying a lot more attention to what is in the road in front of them. That’s because deer, especially during mating season, have a tendency to not pay attention to roads, cars, trucks or anything else.

More deer are hit by a vehicle during mating season than at any other time because of the additional activity and hitting a deer, even with a transfer truck, can literally destroy a vehicle.

Here are a few tips to help prevent having a deer for a hood ornament during mating season:

1. Be especially cautious at night. Deer are very active during mating season and dusk to dark is a very active time for them.

2. Install headlights that give you a wider perspective. The wider view you have off of each side of the road may give you that split second advantage if a deer is preparing to cross.

3. Slow down at Deer Crossing signs. If there’s a sign there, it’s there for a reason.

4. If you see one deer, there’ll be two. While this isn’t always the case, more often than not, it is. If one deer crosses in front of you, slow down even more since a second one will probably be crossing as well.

Even with great eyesight, plenty of lead time and all the tips in the world, things still happen. That’s when having great car insurance with an agency like PMA Insurance Services, LLC can help Northern Virginia area drivers stay on the road. If you’re concerned about what your car insurance covers and whether you have enough insurance to fiscally protect you, give us a call today. We can be reached at (703) 449-1327.