Winter survival kit: ten things you should carry in your car

Thursday, 6 June 2019

No-one likes to think of the worst happening, but it does, and on the roads in winter is a time and place where it can happen regularly and without warning.

But a bit of preparation can make a huge difference when the worst does happen, so here are 10 things you should carry in your car during the winter months, particularly if you live in an area that gets snow.

A basic tool kit

This is something you should keep in you car year round, particularly if it is an older car.

**READ MORE:

* Winter is coming: so get your car ready

* It's a wet weekend: how to stay safe in driving rain

* Silly question #33: am I more likely to have car trouble in wet weather?**

A small array of basic tools like a screwdriver, pliers and an adjustable wrench could prove invaluable in a lot of different ways, and even if you aren't particularly mechanically capable yourself, they will be of use to someone who might stop to help you.

Jump leads

These are also something you should really have in your car year-round. Batteries can and do fail, particularly in cold weather, so whether these come to your rescue, or enable you to rescue someone else, they are always handy.

An emergency tool

This is something else that everyone should keep in their car year round.

Basically a strange-looking little hammer thing (you usually see them attached to bus windows) that can not only break a car window in an emergency, they also have a small cutting blade in the handle that can be used to cut a seatbelt.

It could literally be a lifesaver.

Warm clothes and blankets

Leaving a warm jackets, socks and even a blanket or two in the car could literally prove to be a lifesaver as well if you get stuck somewhere far away and very cold.

Warm waterproof footwear and gloves

Keeping some gumboots or other waterproof boots in the boot of your car might seem a bit unnecessary, but trust us - if you ever do need them, you will really appreciate them. Put it this way - if something does happen and you have to spend the rest of the day with wet, cold feet, you will wish you had bothered.

Not having gloves can also easily ruin your day too. Have you ever tried changing a tyre in the freezing cold with bare hands? It's not fun.

High visibility jacket or warning sign

If you need to get out of your car on the side of the road on a dark winter's night, then you need to be seen.

A torch - or your mobile phone - may not always be visible to approaching motorists, but a reflectorised jacket or warning sign will be.

Extra windshield washer fluid and spare wiper blades

Running out of windshield washer fluid or having your wiper blades disintegrate in the middle of a dark, rainy night is the last thing you need. Carry spares because you won't always know where the nearest service station is, or even if it will be open.

A first-aid kit

Again, this is something that you probably should have in your car year-round (or it came with your car), but in winter, when slippery roads are far more common, it is vital.

Tyre chains

A tyre pressure gauge, a spare tire (with air in it!) and tyre-changing equipment should always be in your car anyway - but making sure at the start of winter that everything is present and correct is essential.

If you live in an area that gets snow, or are travelling to one, then the ideal time to double check all this is when you put the snow chains in the boot.

A small shovel

There is very little that is worse than trying to dig yourself out of a situation with your hands, particularly when it is freezing cold, so a small shovel or snow shovel could be very much appreciated if you should find yourself in such a situation.

In a pinch, even a child's plastic shovel you would take to the beach is better than nothing…