What items should be included in your vehicles emergency kit? It depends on your travel habits. Urban or cross country. Speedway Towing & Roadside Assistance first outlines the basics:
• Jumper Cables: 1-15 ft long, 8 or 6-gauge wire (Standards are 10ft 8-gauge cables)
• Car Battery Operated Air Compressor: Who checks the spare tire pressure. A compressor can compensate for slow leaks, low spares and vandalism where are is let out of tires.
• Flashlight: A must for every vehicle and at least one if not two spare battery changes. Rotate on a regular basis to ensure freshness.
• First Aid Kit: Working on a car, broke down alongside the road, expect some booboos. It very easy to pick up minor injuries. Some naproxen, ibuprofen or Excedrin can stave of headaches and minor body pains. Burn ointments or spray, antibiotic creams, cold packs and band-aids round an appropriate first aid kit. For those that suffer motion sickness some treatment should be included, as well as non-drowsy allergy medicine. A Millar emergency blanket or poncho (a real gripper changing a tire in the rain).
Long distance, cross country travel:
• Three Day Emergency Survival Kit for 4 Persons. Emergency ration bars and water to keep 4 people operative for 72 hours. During forest fire season, it is not uncommon for roads to be closed, with no turnaround available on separated highways, for hours even a day or two. Some drink and food will make weathering the storm easier.
Other considerations would include:
• Spare Fuses: Pick up a spare fuse kit with what you need for your vehicle. Save a lot of headaches and frustration.
• Basic Tool Kit. Flat & Phillips head screw drivers, a pair of pliers, perhaps either an adjustable wrench (Crescent) and locking (Vise-Grips) pliers, utility knife, a roll of electrical and duct tape, some bungee cords, cable ties. Waterless hand clean and a shop rag or paper towels. A shop or ground cloth (roads are very dirty) and a pair of gloves, canvass with vinyl-dimples is recommended.
• Emergency Flares and a set of Hazard/Caution/Warning Reflector Triangles: This will hopefully prevent a collision. Reflectors during the day a flare or two at night. New high-tech LED flashing flares are cheaper and better than the burning type These have magnetic and braces for setting the units vertical. Just keep some spare batteries. Burning flares only have about a 20 minute burn time, LEDs are the best and most inexpensive. Light sticks are another alternative.
• Whistle with Lanyard: Need to get attention and you don’t want to lose it.
More Items to Pack for a Road Trip Etc
If traveling with kids, something to entertain them will aid mental stability of the parent. Emergencies don’t happen on a regular basis. But if you travel a lot on the roads and highways, you will eventually suffer an automotive breakdown or a flat tire. Best to be prepared. The survivalist types would include a bug-out kit if they should have to abandon the ride and hoof it to get home or to their destination. A lot of items would cross over like first aid kits and food-water, etc.
Emergency Roadside Assistance & More in Irving, Fort Worth, Arlington, Carrollton & Plano Texas
The more prepared you can be the more likely you are to handle the inconveniences experienced with a breakdown. In extreme cases survival may depend on it. Speedway Towing and Roadside Assistance is here for you whenever your need towing and roadside assistance services. Contact us whenever you or a loved one find yourself a stranded motorist.
