What to Pack in Your Cars Emergency Kit

When we pack our families up for a relaxing weekend at the lake or to travel those long distances to grandma's house for Christmas dinner, an emergency is the last thing on our minds. As unpleasant as this may be, thinking about a crisis before it happens and being prepared for an emergency is necessary especially when taking a long road trip.

A few essential items that should be included in any emergency kit are the following:

- A flashlight with extra batteries

- A headlamp. These come in small compact able sizes and are especially handy when there is no one to hold the flashlight at 2 am when you are trying to replace a broken belt 10 miles from the nearest gas station

- A working pair of jumper cables, if possible a portable battery jumper is the best to have. - A flannel blanket, especially if traveling in cold climates.

- Spare water. Ideally two gallons is best for spare water for the car and at least one or two bottles of water for drinking, especially in hot climates. Make sure to check the dates on the water for usability at least every three months and certainly before embarking on any long trip.

- 1-2 quarts of extra oil for your specific engine. If you run out of oil, 1 quart will get you at least to the next interstate exit or gas station without blowing up your car
- A pack of extra fuses. These can be found at auto stores for about .99 cents a fuse. These are handy to replace any that blow out for electrical reasons which can cause huge annoyances like lights not working, horn not working, windows not working etc.

- A few extra bulbs for lights that might go out. Bulbs are usually easy to replace with a screwdriver, most just pop right in.

- One spare belt for each major part of your engine, ie: serpentine belt, fan belt

- A reflector for marking road side repairs.

- A small fire extinguisher, good for one use.

- A tire repair/patch kit and some fix a flat.

- A handheld battery operated radio with spare batteries.

- 1 Philip's head and 1 flat head screw drivers number 2 as this will fit most things you need to fix on the road.

- A roll of duct tape. You can use this to patch leaks temporarily, temporarily hold wires into place, replace lost nuts and bolts on small parts and tape up rusted battery connections or splits in a jumper cable.

- A flare for long trips that can you leave you in uninhabited patches for miles at a time

- A general use first aid kit. This needs to be packed appropriately to cover just about any situation you might encounter on the road. Things to include in a first aid kit for the road: A variety pack of bandages small, medium and large, a small box of gauze, a roll of medical tape, a medium sized ace bandage with clips, a small pair of scissors, tweezers, needle and thread, (believe it or not if you have to sew a bad cut together until you can get to the hospital, this can be used. It's also good for sewing make shift slings and splints), a travel sized bottle of hydrogen peroxide,a handful of alcohol swabs,a small bottle of icotap for inducing vomiting, (hopefully to never be used), a small bottle of super glue(yet another way to substitute stitches temporarily),a small bottle of hand sanitizer (use this before helping any injured person),a pair of latex gloves (for protection against others bodily fluids), a few packs of dry ice,a small bottle of pain reliever and fever reducer (check the expiration date periodically as the driver will probably need these the most),a tube of antibiotic cream,a tube of diaper rash cream (Not just for the babies this little handy invention is great for treating sunburn, heat rash or chafing on the road).

- An all purpose knife, preferably swiss army style.

- A box of paper clips, you can use one to fix your windshield wiper motor if a piece of it goes out, and to hold wipers on if the clip falls out temporarily.

- A ball point pen and sticky notes for jotting down emergency information.

Now all of this may seem like a lot of stuff, but if packed right, everthing can fit in a milk crate or small cardboard box. Most of these items will come in a premade emergency road trip kit that can be bought at an autostore. For those who want to be VERY prepared, you can include the following items although they are not necessary for a basic emergency kit:

- A small pack of dry good foods like chips and trail mix, these last longer and don't have to be replaced as often as things like candy bars.

- A couple of sodas, lasts for up to a year and is good to have if you need to replace your body's sugar rapidly due to dehydration or more severe problems like diabetes, try to keep them out of the sun.

- A small tool kit with a generic ratchet set and wrench set. Those not so handy with tools may be able to get a fellow roadster who is to help them out if the right tools are handy.

- A medium length of rope for hauling or tying things down.

- A pack of dry ice for injuries and to pack items that need to stay cold.

- Trip specific items for the terrain you are going to cover, ie extra gloves for cold weather, extra water for hot weather.

If a long road trip is planned out carefully, hopefully there will never be a need to use any of these items. The great thing is if unexpected situations do arise, the tools will be there to handle it. Packing well for emergencies gives everyone the piece of mind to not worry about the trip and enjoy thinking about arriving safely at the destination.