10 Ways to Prepare Your Car for Emergency Survival

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With winter coming soon, it is a good idea to prepare your car so you and your family will be safe during the winter months. Much can be done to ensure emergency survival in your car or truck and keep you secure and comfortable this cold season.

Your car should be prepared for the cold weather with the start of every winter season. The cold and harsh winter weather can leave you stranded or in an accident. The good news is that preparing your car so you can survive emergency situations is easy and affordable.

Below is a list of 10 steps you can take to prepare your car for the winter months-

1. Power adapter-Get a cigarette lighter power adapter for your car so you can have access to power to charge cell phones, use a radio, charge batteries, etc.

2. Map-Keep a map in your car that you are familiar with and can use easily. Do not risk getting lost in a snow storm or not knowing the best routes to take to your destination.

3. Car Survival kit-Buy a survival kit to keep in the car. Make sure you have enough survival kits in your car for yourself and a couple of passengers at least.

4. Blankets-Keep extra blankets in the car at all times. The cold weather will be the biggest threat if you are stranded or lost.

5. Body warmers-Keep a good supply of body warmers in the car. These can be purchased in bulk online.

6. Survival Water-You can only last a few days without water. Milk jugs are a good container to use for storing water in the car.

7. Games/entertainment-a deck of cards or a small travel game will keep your morale high until help arrives.

8. Winter clothes-You may need to exit the car in a snow storm. Always keep boots, coats and gloves in the car at all times.

9. Tire Chains-Do not risk getting stuck with nothing to aid you in getting on your way. Snow chains can be very effective in helping you get your car through the snow.

10. Shovel-Keep a small shovel in the car so you can dig yourself out if you are stuck in snow. Small survival shovels can be purchased online and are compact and inexpensive.

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Emergency Survival in the Car

Emergency survival planning should be achieved in all areas of life wherever we spend a significant amount of time. Since much of our day is spent in a car, it is important to work on emergency survival planning for the time we are in the car.

Multiple dangers are associated with cars, making your car a potential place for emergency survival. If there is an accident and nobody is on the scene to help, you must wait for emergency response personnel. When your car breaks down, leaving you stranded, you will be glad you were prepared for emergency survival. Blizzards, rainstorms and other bad weather will limit the visibility you need to drive safely, forcing you to pull over and wait out the storm.

Emergency survival kits should be customized to meet your specific needs while you are in the car. Be sure to include an emergency blanket, body warmers, emergency survival food and water, warm clothing and a complete emergency survival first aid kit.

Keep enough emergency survival supplies in your car for at least two people, maybe more if there are frequently more people in your car than just yourself.

Review the contents of your emergency survival kit often to replenish any used or spoiled emergency survival supplies. This is especially important as it is easy to forget that you have a survival kit in your car and it is easily damaged with extreme heat. Food will spoil in a hot car. Try wrapping your survival kit in a survival blanket and putting it somewhere in the car that is out of the sun and somewhat insulated.

Car emergency survival kits can be stored anywhere inside the car but it is important to use some discretion. Storing a survival kit in the trunk is convenient because it does not take up space inside where someone may be sitting, but consider that perhaps you will not be able to open your trunk for some reason in an emergency. Only store your survival kit in the trunk if you can access the trunk through the back seat.

Another place to store an emergency survival kit in the car is under the seats. This way the survival kit is not in your way and it is easily accessible, even if you cannot get out of your seat. Floor compartments work well too.

Wherever you decide to store your emergency survival kit in your car, make sure it is easily accessible in all potential survival situations.