Preparedness: Winter Driving
With the new year comes an all too familiar reality in the northern US: Winter has arrived. And with winter comes snow, ice, cold temperatures, messy driving conditions, and occasionally getting stuck on the side of the road for hours.
If you haven’t already seen it, hundreds of drivers have been stranded on I-95 after an accident, many of whom are now out of food, water, and fuel.
Are you ready? Here’s a quick checklist of things you should have in each of your vehicles. This is a good time to make sure you’re up to date, your batteries are fresh, and none of your meds are expired.
A Fresh Car Battery
Check the date on your car’s battery. If your vehicle starts a little slow in the fall, there’s a chance it might not start at all on the cold winter mornings. If your battery is struggling, get it replaced now instead of waiting for a far less opportune time!
Snow Brush
For your safety and others’, it’s important to have a brush/scraper that you can use to clear your vehicle of snow and ice before driving. It’s important to clean your windshields, windows, headlights, taillights, and license plate. Also make sure you don’t have a bunch of snow on top of your vehicle that could fly up and land on a vehicle behind you.
Jumper Cables
So your battery wasn’t as healthy as you thought? Keep a set of jumper cables in your trunk so you can have someone get you up and running. Go directly to your favorite auto parts store, and now you really need to replace your battery. Jumper cables are also great should you come across someone else whose battery just gave up the ghost.
A Spare Tire
At least once a year, check your spare tire to make sure it’s properly inflated and in good shape. Also, make sure you have a jack and a wrench that you can use to swap tires should you get a flat. The side of the road during a blizzard is not the ideal time to discover you don’t have the correct jack for your vehicle or that your spare tire needs a spare itself!
Sand or Cat Litter
Should you become stuck in snow, one of the easiest ways to get traction is to toss sand or kitty litter under your drive tires. Rear-wheel-drive vehicles can also benefit from the extra weight over the drive wheels.
Small Shovel
Along with sand, a small shovel will allow you to dig snow out from under the vehicle or your tires.
Water and Snacks
In the rare instance you’re stuck on the side of the road or on a highway for several hours, it’s important that you have some kind of food and water with you. Make sure you don’t leave water bottles in the vehicle overnight where they may freeze and burst. For snacks, keep a stash of fruit or granola bars, candy bars, or similar sources of calories and protein.
First Aid Kit
You should have at least a basic first aid kit with treatments for small cuts and scrapes, common over the counter medications, and in the winter, some hand/feet warmers. If you want to go a bit further, you could keep a trauma kit in your vehicle as well.
Full Tank of Gas
Whenever you’re warned that a significant winter storm is coming, you should top off your gas tanks. Ideally, during winter months, your tank should never be less than half full. This will stave off one of the worst issues when your trip takes a lot longer than you expected – running out of fuel.
Blankets
If you wind up spending so much time stuck on the road that your car runs out of fuel, it’s important to have blankets that you can use to retain body heat. Small fleece blankets are compact and easy to stash and don’t take up a whole lot of space.
Flashlight
A flashlight can be used to provide light inside your vehicle, for signaling others, or for making yourself more visible should you need to walk on the road side.
Cell Phone Charger/Bank Charger
We rely on our cell phones everywhere today. If you get stuck in a snow storm, there are many reasons it could be important to have a working cell phone. If your car dies, you can continue to charge your phone using a bank charger. Just remember to keep the bank charger charged and check it regularly.
Hats, Gloves, and Boots
When you drive in the winter, assume that you’re going to have to get out and walk – to your destination, to a nearby house, or to a nearby gas station. Everyone in the vehicle should have warm coats, a hat, gloves, and boots. Having these things will also help you stay warm even if you stay in the vehicle.
Conclusion
The chances of being stranded for 20+ hours on the side of the road are slim, but it does happen. And when it happens, you have only what you prepared in advance. Some of these things, like keeping your tank full or keeping your battery fresh, will set you up to avoid being stranded in the first place.