The time to prepare for an emergency is before it occurs. Whether it is a flat tire, or a roadside emergency, you should have the following items in your car. Remember to make kits for all cars, not just the car you drive every day.
MAKE YOUR OWN EMERGENCY CAR KIT
Learn how to make an Emergency Car Kit below. While preventing an emergency is not always possible, knowing what to do and being prepared can mean the difference between life and death.
Planning ahead for danger can mean the difference between life and death. In recent years, law enforcement has suggested that every driver equip themselves with an emergency car care kit.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
What type of emergency car care kit you need depends entirely on where you live and what type of conditions you drive in.
BASIC EMERGENCY CAR CARE KIT
The following are items you gather together inside a small box, toolkit, or lock box and store in your trunk or under a seat:
- FIRST AID KIT containing aspirin, bandages, gauze, eyewash, moist wipes, antibiotic ointment, and burn cream.
- DUCT TAPE: You would be surprised how many times a single roll of duct tape will save you. Duct tape can temporarily fix a broken windshield wiper, hold glass together, pick up glass shards, serve as a temporary gas cover, mend a broken hose, and has a thousand other uses.
- BRIGHTLY COLORED CLOTH or "emergency" sign which you can tie or place somewhere on your car to signal for help.
- CB or cellular phone to call for help. Many phones are now on the market, including special 911 units and prepaid cellular phones.
- TOOLS such as wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, and socket wrenches.
- BOOSTER CABLES to jump a dead or faulty battery.
- EXTRA FUSES
- BLANKETS
- EMERGENCY LIGHT or flashlight.
- BOTTLED water for consumption or for cars that may overheat or lose battery water.
WINTER CAR CARE KIT
Those living in areas where severe weather can bring temperatures quickly below the freezing point should always carry items which will keep them warm and dry in the event of an emergency. Other winter emergency items should include:
- First Aid Kit
- Weather Radio
- Bottled water
- Blankets
- Extra gloves or mittens
- Shovel
- Scarf
If disaster does strike while you are out in the winter, use common sense. Wind chills can freeze body parts in just a few minutes. Keep all areas of the skin covered if you must venture outside your car (though law enforcement experts recommend you stay INSIDE your car during winter storms and wait for help to arrive).
