Car Emergency Kits
Vehicle safety kit essentials
With the onset of winter, driving a car can get dangerous. If you are caught in a car accident, you may need emergency tools to help you get back on the road, especially if you don’t have access to a car care service. A car emergency kit is essential for drivers – you should have one in every car you drive.
Car Emergency Checklist
Car emergency kits, like first aid kits, should include emergency medical supplies, but should also include staples to sustain life for a short period of time, until help comes. Suggestions for the contents of car safety kits include:
- Bottled water, in plastic bottles that can freeze without leakage
- Blanket
- Extra clothing and shoes
- First aid kit
- Seatbelt cutter
- Small shovel, scraper and snowbrush and lock de-icer
- Candle in a deep can and matches
- Wind–up flashlight
- Whistle, in case you need to attract attention
- Roadmaps
- Copies of your emergency plan and personal documents
Vehicle emergency kits should also include tools to help you if you have an auto emergency. Your auto emergency tool kit should include the items listed above, plus cat litter, sand or salt, antifreeze and windshield washer fluid (preferably fluid made for harsh snow conditions), a tow rope and jumper cables, at least one spare tire and a fire extinguisher. Perhaps one of the most important items in any auto survival kit is a set of flares. Flares will help you attract attention, getting help to you and your car faster.
Winterizing Your Car
To keep safe while driving in harsh weather conditions, remember to winterize your car before the season starts. This may include changing the fluids in your car to winter-friendly fluids that will not corrode your car’s engine or parts, fitting snow tires onto your vehicle to help on icy roads and making sure that your heating system, engine and fuel filters are working well.
Along with these precautions, be prepared before you go out on the road – you never know what you’ll run into. Keeping an emergency kit in each of your cars will ensure that if disaster strikes, you’ll have the tools you need to survive.
