The most important travel items to keep in your vehicle

The most important travel items to keep in your vehicle

Have important travel items in your vehicle with you to handle any situation that arises. Unexpected things can happen while you are on the road. There are a lot of items that you can keep in your car to be prepared. It is great to have what you need in case you break down in bad weather or a dark place. The one most valuable in my view though, is the car escape tool. This one is an actual life-saver.

 

Car escape tool – the most handy and important emergency tool you probably didn’t know you needed

THESE ONLY COST A COUPLE OF DOLLARS!!!

Car escape tool - top of the most important travel items

Car escape tool – break window/cut seat belt/pop air bag

This important tool can break your car windows (NOT the front windshield), cut your seat belt, and pop your air bag. Our modern cars have so many electric powered controls. This can be a big drawback if we are in a situation of fire, or sinking in water, or just a system failure. Yes, these are probably rare problems, but have your emergency tool for these cases.

Why you need this emergency tool…

Stay prepared for ANY CASE WHERE THE ELECTRIC CONTROLS FAIL in your vehicle or you have BECOME TRAPPED in a car accident. These tools have a tip for breaking the window. They have a cutting blade for the seat belt in an internal slot (where you are safe from unintentional cutting). They can also break the air bag to help free you.

When you cannot get your window to roll down, when you are trapped in a seat belt that won’t open, or behind an air bag after a car accident, this is what you will need. Keep it in a place that is easy to reach if you are trapped. If you are trapped behind an air bag, can you reach the inside of your console compartment? Would you reach your door pocket compartment better? You probably don’t want to keep it in your glove compartment… you definitely cannot reach there.

Here is a frightening truth about the important physics involved when a car sinks in water…

If you do not get the door or window open before sinking… the outside force is too great to do this once you are submerged. Once that happens you have a choice of breaking the window or waiting for water to fill the car and equalize the forces so that you can open the door. That is a VERY DIFFICULT thing to work out for yourself, but how do you do this if you have kids in the car too?!? This tool will give you the help to do something far better.

Large strong heavy flashlight

This is a dual purpose tool. You of course need a flashlight in night time situations, so it is handy to have right there in your car with you. It can also be handy if you find yourself in need of self defense in a bad situation you do not expect.

The police use a standard large heavy flashlight for both these reasons as well. They used to be called 4 battery flashlights and were sturdy and long lasting battery power for being ready to use. This is something that you might want to keep under the driver’s seat in easy reach for times when you are alone on your drive.

Remember the flashlight is there… so important

Get yourself to a point where you REMEMBER that flashlight is there and where it is located. This is an item I kept in my car with me because of a caring friend’s advice. There was once a situation where I might have needed it, and I was just so scared that I did not think of it. Fortunately the situation changed for me.

Jumper cables

It is very easy to end up with a dead battery. All it takes is a door not closed all the way and a dome light on that you did not notice. This is easily remedied by a jump to start your car. Just running the car for a little while is enough to recharge that battery. You can probably find someone else with a car that is kind enough to help you, but you can not expect them to have the jumper cables too. Have the proper jumper tool with you.

Battery jump process

Make sure both cars are turned off.

Connect the positive (red) side of both batteries first, starting with the dead battery. Connect the ground side (black) on the good battery first, then the dead one.

Start the car with the good battery and let it charge up the dead battery. Hopefully you will be able to start your car, give it at least half a minute.

Remove the ground side (black) on the assisting car first, then the positive (red) connection. Remove the ground connection (black) first on your car, then the positive one (red).

Blanket

Yes… this is a great Winter time emergency item, but it is also handy for a warm weather season unexpectedly cold night.

This is an item that can be handy for all kinds of events. If you need to work on something under the car, a blanket underneath you could be a nice thing to have. It could be handy to cover you or some item to protect from a weather situation.

Maybe you like to come to the aid of injured animals and covering them to calm them and minimize the danger there.

Small scrap of cloth

Handy for removing a hot cap from a hot engine… Maybe you need it to wipe off hands that are dirty or greasy from doing car repairs. Paper towels could also be the tool for this purpose.

Water

Water is an item to stay hydrated of course, but it also can be put in your radiator if you are low or have a slow leak. Maybe some duct tape is another tool to have in your car to cover a leak and keep you going.

Car repair supplies

You should have repair tools in your car. At the very least, you need the tools required to change a flat tire as well as the spare tire.

Check your spare periodically and make sure it has enough air in it.

Article about important safety information to stay prepared for a huge range of emergency situations

The time to learn about what to do in an emergency is before you find yourself facing one…

Valuable To Know