Ready Together

Think of your car as a BIG survival kit.

We can’t predict most natural and man-made disasters but the odds are fairly good that your car will be with you when you find yourself in one. It may even save your life ! There are some simple things we can do to make sure our “go-kit on a chassis” is a well prepared survival kit that we can depend on to get us where we are going  and to be able to weather out a night or two if faced with roadside survival.

I have a friend who was stuck on the interstate for an entire night during the roughest part of a Nor’Easter. He tried to get home from work before the storm really hit but the high winds drifted snow too quickly causing low visibility and accidents, making the road impassable. He spent the night in his car – probably cold and hungry – but he made it!

With a little foresight,  we can prepare for a winter storm OR the day that we might have to rely on our car

to “Get out of Dodge” quickly.

Here’s how:

Maintain your vehicle. Keep it in good repair all the time. I get the oil changed every 3 months no matter what the mileage and sometimes sooner when I’ve logged a lot of miles.

Keep the gas tank at least half full. I also keep a couple 5 gallon gas containers in the garage that I fill when bad weather is coming and will take with me in an evacuation.

Store maps in the car at all times. In addition to local maps, I have regional maps (free for AAA members) with escape routes highlighted.

Prepare for a flat tire. AAA will not be there in an evacuation scenario or if you’re (wisely) travelling back roads to get to your destination. So stash these in your trunk (I keep mine is a small plastic crate:

• Full size spare tire
• Flares and/or reflector triangles
• A quality hydraulic jack
• Mini air-compressor
• Fix-A-Flat Tire Repair
• Toolkit and/or “Leatherman” style multi-tool
• Small folding shovel and crow bar (to remove debris)
• Work gloves
• A plastic tarp
• Roll of duct tape
• Pack of 10 Light Stick Green 12-Hour for Emergency Disaster Preparedness
• Headlamp or camping style lantern like this one:
• Coleman Rugged Battery Powered Lantern (Family Size)
• Extra batteries

Store some emergency supplies in your car all the time. Be sure you have prepared an easily carried go-kit for yourself and each member of your family that you will quickly grab from the house during an evacuation.  But right now you can preposition some emergency supplies in the car for those unplanned situations (like my friend stranded on the highway during a blizzard). This will also save time when precious minutes count if you ever have to “bug out”.  I keep most of these emergency supplies in a lidded plastic container in the car.

• Sleeping bag or wool blanket
• First Aid Kit like this one:
• Adventure Medical Kits Sportsman Kit
• Emergency first aid blankets
• Dust masks and Niosh N-95 masks
• Latex gloves
• Umbrella
• Flashlight and batteries
• Cell phone charger
• Bottled water
• Sport Berkey Portable Water Purifier
• Energy bars, nuts, chewing gum
• A whistle for signaling
• Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches, 10 Pack
• 2 Packs of New NATO Water and Windproof Matches
• Coghlans Waterproof Matches 10 Pack
• A compass
• Pad and a waterproof marker/pen
• Emergency rain parka

Once you get this stuff in your car, you’ll have much more peace of mind.  I do!

I’ve linked many of the items listed here to Amazon to make it super simple for you to get started or add to your supplies. If you don’t want to do this yourself, you could buy a kit like one of these for your car to get you started.

• AAA 70 Piece Explorer Road Assistance Kit (See all Automotive Safety Kits)
• Bell Automotive 22-1-65006-1 Roadside Emergency Kit – 100 Piece (See all Automotive Safety Kits)

So you have no excuse, order these things and get started today. Send a link to this article to your neighbors…there probably won’t be any more room in your car for them once you’re packed! And it would be a shame to leave Barney and Betty Rubble behind.

Go ahead and add  suggestions for emergency auto supplies by commenting below. Thanks!