You’re driving along the road, and then all of a sudden you realize that your car engine is starting to overheat.  Whether it’s from the smoke coming out, or the dashboard telling you that it’s doing so, there are countless things that could cause it, but first, let me show you how to stop it from doing more damage.

• Turn on the car heater: Since the heat is drawn from your car engine, you’ll want to try, and blast your car heater at full blast to see if that helps.  Sometimes this can work, while other times it doesn’t help.  The key here is to make sure that you’re running the heat, rather than the air conditioner.
• STOP driving: If you’re driving alongside the road, get off on the shoulder immediately.  You’re risking the chance of stalling out, and causing a major problem.  It’s best to pull over, and call for a tow, or help.
• NEVER touch the engine: Open up the hood, and let it cool off.  It’s most likely going to be very, very hot.  You won’t want to touch anything, especially the radiator cap.  Opening this alone can cause a world of hurt in damages.
• WAIT to do it yourself: If you really want to look into the damage, wait at least 20-30 minutes, depending on the weather.  If it’s cooler out, it will cool own quicker, and vise versa with hotter weather.  You’ll want to check the coolant to see how you level looks.  If it’s low, you will want to add some ASAP.  It’s always best to carry this in your trunk.
• Do a check: Even if you’re not a big car buff, just check around, and make sure that everything is connected.  If you can spot a leak, or something looks wrong, just take notes, and show them off to a mechanic.

If you’re in unfamiliar grounds, or you don’t want to stop, you’ll want to just stop, let your engine cool off, and continue to drive again.  By doing so, you’re not going to do more damage to your car.  While it’s always best to stop 100%, you can continue, as long as needle doesn’t hit the hot mark.