Outfit Your Car for Emergencies
Whether you are stranded or in an accident, knowing how to outfit your car for emergencies ahead of time could possibly mean the difference between life and death. From flat tires to needing a first aid kit, you can plan ahead for any scenario and keep a well-stocked and organized emergency kit for your vehicle.
Steps
- Pull together a kit of the essentials. You can easily keep these items in a container in your trunk.
- Include a first aid kit. Instead of trying to piece together different items, though, purchase a pre-packaged kit to save time and space.
- Add to your kit a knife, a flashlight (preferably a crank or shake one), matches or a lighter, a whistle, a pen and small notebook, and if you have a spare, also include a cell phone charger.
- Consider a hiking LED headlamp to use instead of a traditional flashlight for emergency tasks such as changing a tire. You will appreciate having your hands free to work on the task at hand.
- Include a small supply of energy bars and bottled water. Use them if you are stranded or while you wait for your tow truck.
- Invest in a tool like Res-Q-Me to break out your window. This particular model can fit on your key chain, has a spring-loaded head strong enough to break a car's door window, and includes a safety blade that you can use to cut through a stuck seatbelt.
- Hide a spare key in a magnetic holder under the vehicle in the frame or, as an alternative, use duct tape.
- Pack enough cash for a full tank of gas, at least, in your emergency kit. Keeping it out of plain sight will keep you from the temptation of spending it on something that is not an emergency.
- Include an old cell phone because even if it no longer has a carrier assigned to it, and is charged, it can still dial 911.
- Add a disposable camera to your car's emergency kit. It will come in handy if you need to capture pictures of a fender bender for your insurance company.
- Think ahead about car repair.
- Add to this kit road flares, Fix-a-Flat, emergency reflective triangles to place around the vehicle, jumper cables and a disposable poncho.
- Include duct tape to fix just about anything on your vehicle.
- Invest in a small basic tool set, which should include a handful of adjustable wrenches, WD-40 and a ratchet set.
Tips
- Be even more prepared with a thumb drive. If something happens at your home, you can use this drive to keep copies of your critical files. Encrypting the files will help with security, as well as hiding the drive in a secure location in the vehicle.
