The Victorinox series Swiss Army knife shown above is the only thing you need in your glovebox. There, end of answer. Finito ! It’s not even a cheap imitation, but the real thing made in Switzerland. This model cost $185.00 - and I’d never rely upon it - ever. It’s superbly made, yet entirely impractical in the real world. And no, it’s not in my car’s glove box…. more on that later.
Today’s cars have glove boxes are often useless for use to store items except your owners manual and insurance papers. Others have Titanic size center consoles. These caverns can be filled with enough junk to survive for 48 hours in a snowstorm.
This isn’t going to do it either. Might stop minor bleeding from a superficial cut or wound, it barely has the right products to disinfect an minor exposed injury. For roadside use, I’ve replaced just about every item that was included in this kit’s original form. See below for more information. The supplies are changed out every two years and donated to the local Red Cross, St. John’s unit or Salvation Army facility.
Honestly, there’s no proper answer to this question because each kind of emergency that could occur is different. I would pack very differently for a long trip through Arizona and New Mexico’s desert highways than I would in the middle of the worse snowstorm roaring through the mid-west. One small example, pack a sleeping bag for each occupant in the vehicle.
If you are attempting to prepare, common sense rules the day and the glovebox has absolutely nothing to do with what you should take with you on a trip across the city or across 3 states.
Here’s the process works when I think of roadtrip preparedness;
- Condition of vehicle (mileage, health of mechanical components, maintenance completed or overdue). A vehicle with 200,000 miles on it and rarely serviced is just asking for trouble. And the driver knows it. A brand new car is not invulnerable to breakdown, but it does influence preparedness decisions. Age of a car doesn’t matter if you’ve been involved in a collision in the middle of winter.
- Trip requirements (city, highway for short and long distances)
- Planned route and time of day (minor or major road, congestion, etc)
- How many passengers and any special needs or concerns
- Weather conditions (dawn,day, dusk, night)
Knowing the answers to these questions helps determine what gaps or improper equipment is stored in case of emergency.
Asking yourself what you would need in case of an emergency (ICE) is an important planning task. Taking drinking water during a heatwave across New Mexico is a wise extra to have and something you should not leave it in the car for extended periods. Extra blankets during the winter or believe it or not, light blankets for overnight trips across the desert are useful should you breakdown.
This synthetic poly blanket can help main your body heat if you are stranded by side the road in a severe winter storm. Even so, it will not prevent prolonged sub zero temperatures that allowing hypothermia to set in. Very useful size for the elderly or those with low blood pressure and easily feel the cold.
The little things that can commonly be long term stored in a car are available in kits and in general terms, useful regardless of weather, season or road conditions. They generally include items that are not capable of being fit into most gloveboxes. They should include;
- Basic, but high quality First Aid kit that is serviced annually. Sized for the number of occupants the vehicle can carry.
- Battery jumper cables
This one cubic square foot kit includes battery jumper cables that are ten feet long and are equipped with heavy gauge wire to withstand severe weather. They cost 4 times as much as cheaper and often shorter cables. If you are off the side of the road, the longer the cables are, the safer it will be to jump start your vehicle that may have a battery on the opposite side of yours (right instead of left, front instead of rear, etc.). The red colored small first aid kit shown in the right side pouch is not well equipped, with nothing more than some sterilizing pads, light gauze, some band-aids and does not include a tension bandage. It would never pass as part of any certified first aid kit.
Flashlights come in all sorts of sizes and lumen per square foot lighting performance. You get what you pay for. LED models are now becoming available. In general terms the batteries may last longer and reduce static battery drain when not in use. Having one with a magnetic base can be handy if required to light up the engine bay on the side of the road at night. Change the batteries every year. You’ll regret it if do not. Murphy’s law will strike.
- Matches and butane cigar lighter
Worth their weight in gold, the matches are waterproof.
- Scissors / Box Cutters
- 1 quart (liter) of oil for engine and 1 pint (350 ml) of power steering fluid and 1 gallon (4 L) of windshield washer fluid.
- Nylon reinforced Tow strap 20′ long and rated for 10 tonnes.
- Reflective Road side Triangle
The reflective triangle warns approaching cars and trucks that you maybe blocking the road. Use on the highway, make sure you place it at least 200′ behind where you have broken down. This kit includes a collapsible shovel.
- Heat blanket (can also be used to reflect heat) and head gear during winter. (60 to 70% of your body heat loss, occurs from your head and upper neck) Your groin area is the second most vulnerable to heat loss followed by your underarms and chest.
I then add the following items
- Spare batteries (checked for expiry date and replaced anyway with fresh ones every year). Do not use rechargable batteries as they do not hold a static charge for more than a month or two.
The large battery pack is capable of charging your cell phone at least twice before it is drained. Course, it’s only good if you keep it charged and in your car. Based on research I have done, almost nobody carries one in the car that is ready to go. This particular one stores 6,000 mAh of power. They must be maintained and hooked up to a charging unit daily for maximum life.
- Aspirin and Tylenol (some people have reactions to one or the other)
- Small tool set applicable to my type of car (Imperial or Metric)
You do not need to bring a master mechanics tool set worth tens of thousands of dollars with you. But a small compact and easy to store basic toolset is a great safety item to have with you - even if you’re not mechanically inclined. Someone that stops to help you might be…
Other items you could include;
- Plastic backed mirror & large magnifying glass
- Spare clean rags (2) or clothes. (no, not tissue paper…though you can have those as additional supplies)
- Hand cranked self powering radio
This is an AM - FM radio, battery and charger for that generates power by you turning a hand crank on the back side. You’ll get a workout! 10 minutes of cranking will allow the built in radio to operate for about 20 minutes. This particular model is an older model that cannot connect to USB enabled devices and is discontinued.
- Snacks that are rotated monthly
I’m often asked, should you buy a kit or can you make your own. If you are comfortable in your understanding of First Aid and Safety items, by all means, make your own kit or thoroughly research which ones are available on the market. Quality is a critical consideration when it comes to potentially saving your life or helping others in need.
You get what you pay is absolutely true when buying roadside assistance kits or those that come with some new model cars. I’ve seen hundreds of kits and come up with my own requirements depending on where and and when I’m going to travel on highways or off-road. Some of my options are for extreme and not required for many motorists.
When I deploy as a volunteer search and rescue member in the backwoods, I bring with me a kit that is easy to wear and has most of the items required to make sure I am self sufficient in case I too become lost or disoriented. I carry enough supplies to assist anyone with minor injuries. Even with Level 3 Industrial First Aid training, the type of supplies I carry are not sufficient to handle all scenarios. Like a glove box, there are always going to be limitations. One of the pouches on this vest is where my Swiss Army knife is stored. It’s been used once during a deployment to Haiti to cut 1″ thick nylon rope.
The water and energy bars must be regularly inspected and replaced. The water packs are certified for 5 years and the energy bars for 2 years. I’ve included in my kit, protective eye glasses (upper left), glow sticks (center), light duty air mask (middle left), up to 5 plastic panchos, and blankets, two sets of work gloves and some small tools. The entire kit fits over your protective clothing and weighs 15 lbs fully loaded. It also has belt space for radios (if equipped), flashlight, walking stick, shovel, etc. If I’m heading out to the desert, this is the kit I’ll bring with me. If I’m heading out to the backwoods in winter, the gear is changed out for and / or reduced as required. For example, more matches and instant fire kindling is brought with a collapsible water proof pot and stove to make water instead of bringing it with me (since it will freeze anyway).
During the summer, I’ll throw this kit in the back of my car and leave it there, out of the sunlight on the floor. This kit has been used three times since 2006 to give aid during an road side accident. I’ve worn it about 40 times during volunteer searches for lost pets and people and only had to dispense water on two occasions. Medical supplies are rotated out every two years weather I like it or not to make sure my kit is up to date and ensure all items that may be subject to a recall notice are removed.
By law in most countries, the use of your mobile phone to call the police is free of charge - even if your phone is not currently connected to a mobile provider. If there is signal showing on your phone, calling for assistance maybe possible (i.e. 911, 999, etc.) - assuming your phone is has sufficient battery power.
It should be noted that many of these items would be absolutely useless to a motorist if they do not know how to used them. I strongly recommend everyone to take a basic first aid course that are available from your local Red Cross or St. John’s organization.
It is also a good idea to take a basic road safety course in your area that are often available from your local National Auto Club Association office. I also strongly recommend everyone learn and practice how to safely replace a tire in an emergency if a spare tire is included with your car. The course will help the motorist learn when to proceed and not replace a tire on the side of the road and what weather conditions should be avoided. Just because you belong to a road side assistance club, doesn’t mean help may be available immediately.
If your commute is in a big city with no serious threats from natural disasters and you never head out on the highway, the need for even a flashlight is going to be remote. Most motorists simply call a tow truck and off they go in a few hours to get their broken down vehicle repaired. Yet, we have seen drivers and passengers in big cities suddenly get hit with a massive snow storm and die from being stuck in their cars and freeze to death. They keep running their engine’s heater until they run out of fuel and then die. A charged mobile phone and sleeping bag would have saved their lives.
One of the worse winter pile ups in history involved over 150 vehicles on I-94 in Michigan in January of 2015. Stunningly, only one person died, a truck driver from Quebec. Emergency crews were already on their way when vehicles continued to pile into each other. They were very lucky.
In 2013 on Highway 41/43 near Germantown, Wisconsin, one of the most bizarre slow reaction chain of events unfolded with no fatalities but lots of minor injuries. Imagine if this accident occurred hundreds of miles away from a large city.
Be safe and happy motoring!
