Her father sent this testimonial to us: “I just wanted to thank you for making this product. Your glass breaker saved my 16 year old daughter today. She rolled her car into a brook and the car went down and if it wasn’t for this product she may have not been with us anymore. She quickly pulled it off her keychain and broke the side window and climbed out. Thank you”

Teen survives car flipping upside down, lands in water. Escapes using resqme glass breaker tool

 

Written by Adrienne Erin

Driving your car may seem like such a routine task that it’s easy to overlook the potential of an emergency. The types of emergencies one can experience while driving are plentiful, including engine failures, flat tires, fires, weather-related havoc and accidents. Properly preparing for any emergency requires that you store essential items in your vehicle. Here’s a list to get you started.

Spare Tire, Tire Jack and Tire Iron

It’s always useful to carry a spare tire that’s in good condition, along with a tire jack and tire iron. Flat tires are one of the most common issues a driver can experience. Having a tire jack and tire iron ensures even a solo driver can get the job done, so they can fix the issue smoothly and quickly.

Also recommended are a tire inflator and sealer, if you’d prefer a temporary fix that can get you to the auto shop.

Flashlight, Duct Tape and WD-40

Available at most retail locations, duct tape and WD-40 can prove especially useful for leaky vehicles or otherwise clunky machinery. With the process aided by a flashlight, the short fix can prove just enough to get your vehicle to an auto shop. Read about some duct tape/WD-40 vehicle survival stories here.

Jumper Cables

Regardless of how durable your car is, dead batteries happen to everyone. Your best bet in this scenario is to jump-start your vehicle. You’ll need jumper cables and a fellow driver with a vehicle to lend a hand so you can charge your battery via their car’s power. You can also purchase an emergency battery booster if you’d prefer not to rely on the help of a stranger.

Warmth Essentials

Materials to keep warm, such as coats, blankets and a pair of warm gloves, weigh little and don’t take up much space, so there’s no excuse not to store them in your car in case you’re stranded in the cold for an extended period. They could mean the difference between a comfortable wait and frostbite.

Resqme Tool

The resqme tool is designed to serve as a rescue tool during vehicle entrapment, in case you get trapped in your vehicle during a car crash or malfunction. The tool can cut you free from tangled seat belts and break windows with its strong blade and spring-loaded spike, respectively. It’s a small tool every driver should have.

Water, First Aid Kit and Non-Perishable Food

In the case of an injury, be sure to purchase a first aid kit to help alleviate any injuries or pain caused by an accident. Similarly, you should store energy bars or other non-perishable food items in case you’re stranded or tipped over. This is in addition to water; you should have two bottles stored at all times, prioritized above food.

You never know when an on-road emergency may happen, so be sure to stock your vehicle as soon as possible with the items above to ensure the safety and recovery of you and your loved ones in the case of any emergency.

What to Keep In Your Car Emergency Kit
By Guest Author: Samuel Joyce

Drivers face a plethora of crisis every day. Traffic jams, rough weather, flat tires, dead batteries, stranded miles away from a gas station or eatery, in the middle of the night, overheated radiators and much more. Whether you are few hundred kilometers out of your hometown or on the other side of the country, your only immediate friend in crisis is an emergency kit. Always keep it stacked with all the necessary items that would help you come out of the difficult situations.Image via Flick User State Farm

Your car emergency kit should contain the following:

First Aid Kit
Must have of all is the first aid kit. Pack your first aid kit with all the essentials like latex gloves, anti-bacterial ointment, adhesive bandages- small and large, non-adhesive bandages, gauze, iodine, aspirin and medical tape.

Water bottles
Water-the elixir of life, is the most important item you should keep in your car. Never travel without it.

Basic tools
Keep emergency hammer like window breaker, seat belt cutter and fluorescent orange for signaling. Lug wrench, box cutter, screwdriver, are the basic tools that always need to be kept in the car. The kit should include jumper cables, a tire gauge, a fuel/fluid siphon and a couple of reflective triangles and flat road flares.

USB mobile device charger
The only connection between you and your family is a phone in crisis. A phone with a dead battery is useless. To avert such a situation, always keep a mobile device charger in your car.

Flashlight
Any emergency kit is incomplete without flashlights. In emergencies after dusk, if you are not able to search the things needed, then the entire stacking is pointless. Keep one flashlight with a strong beam. You can keep LED flashlights. They are cheap– two are enough. Always keep flashlight batteries in a jar outside the flashlight.

Road maps
With smart phones in almost every pocket, road maps seem obsolete. However, what if you are stuck at a place outside the range of your GPS signal or the phone battery is dead. The GPS may also not help. At such places, only a road map or an atlas can help.

Spare Tire
Carry a tire in a good condition assorted with a tire jack and tire iron. But, just keeping a tire is not sufficient. You must know how to change the tire as well.

Jumper cables
Jumper cables are perfect to deal with a sudden breakdown of batteries. It will not provide a full charge but would be enough to get back home or a service station nearby.

Remember, if the battery is in a bad shape, visit a mechanic or auto parts store with a certified battery charger. You can also exercise the option of mobile car battery replacement which is available everywhere these days, whether you are in Melbourne, Johannesburg or Colorado. They repair and replace your alternator or starter motor. By keeping jumper cables, you can assist a stranded fellow as well.

Roadside flares
If you are a victim of tire blowout stranded in the darkness or in low visibility conditions. Convey your distress to the passing vehicles by lighting roadside flares around the perimeter of the car or set-up reflective triangles.

Lighter or matches
It is wise to keep a pack of matches or a simple lighter in the emergency kit. With these, you can light a campfire or heat food or water or drive away the animals.

Food
Keep a good supply of healthy snacks like nuts, muesli bars, dried fruits, wrapped energy bars in the car. These are useful even if you are not facing any crisis.

Extra clothes
Keep spare clothes in the car. You might need them in sudden weather changes like rain or snow to layer up. Like clothes, keep extra blankets. They are the best means to keep you warm when the temperatures fall.

Pack your car emergency kit with all the above and have a safe drive!

Author’s Bio:
Samuel Joyce is an automobile expert with keen interest in car safety. Safety while driving on the road is important and wheels, car battery and other parts also form an integral part of it. He has also given reviews for cheap car batteries Melbourne  that have helped many to make the best choice when buying a car battery.