What to have in car for emergencies?

[Kiopa]

Reading about the poor people who've had to spend the night in the car, WIBU to ask what supplies to keep in the car for emergencies? Cold overnights but also any other like scenarios in the UK. Anything you'd recommend?

Sugary drink (less likely to freeze than water)
long life snack
phone battery pack
torch
coats
blanket
potentially a she-wee

This is a good list but I would add a rechargeable light source.

DH bought a battery pack on Amazon that can recharge our car battery as well as phones etc.

Don't bother with the she-wee - too unreliable and the last thing you want in an emergency is to be covered in piss.

As above plus disposable heat pads, hat/gloves and a (folding) shovel.

Personally I keep energy bars/water, space blankets, some glowsticks, yellow vest and a big first aid kit in my car bag as well.

Blankets, energy bars / water, plenty of fuel.
Small shovel and a bag of grit to get out of icy spots.
USB power bank - high capacity as possible.
A heat source that runs off usb - gilet / blanket etc
Torch / emergency lantern.

As well as above, we have a wind up torch, sleeping bag and a cheap foil blanket in each car. Also a big bottle of water (for the car, not for us), some basic boiled sweets/cereal bars, antibac, wet wipes, change of clothes for each child, hat/scarf/gloves/spare jumper. And a window hammer in each front door pocket (to smash out windows if stuck in car). Oh and a car fire extinguisher (I know someone who had a car fire!). I've been stranded in zero temps waiting for a tow truck before, and even though it was only an hour, that without being able to run the car was truly horrible and it took me hours to warm up after

Blanket
Torch
Clothes
Boots
First Aid Kit
Food And Drink
Petrol Can
Ice Grippers
Small Fire Extinguisher
A Glass Hammer
Painkillers
Water
Gloves
High Visibility Jacket
De-Icer And Scraper

Now the weather is getting colder, every time we go on a long journey we take:

-Full baby changing bag to keep us going for 12 hours (x2 outfit changes, nappies, wipes, muslins, x2 cellular blankets, winter snuggle suit, socks, mittens, hat and fleece lined knitted blanket)

-Thick coats for me and husband, beany hat and gloves stuffed in pockets, regardless of how long the journey just in case we break down!

-Car has a charging cable for phones permanently plugged in

Then in a bag in the boot::

-Super king sized blanket
-Torch
-De ice spray
-Ice scraper
-Hiking boots (usually kept in cars anyway for dog walking)

We're also AA breakdown cover members so we carry our membership cards in our purse/wallet.

2 adults and 2 year old. It snows 3-4 months a year here so far always winter prepared

1. winter tyres - they are one every Nov- April and make the biggest difference. Worth investing

2. snow chains. Keep in car. If you have standard size wheels, basic ones can be £20-30 on Amazon. I would rather buy for security of knowing there if needed, even if used rarely.

3. basics for toddler. Spare change clothes, wipes. Few nappies ( he’s toilet trained, but if needed to sleep overnight in car as backup). Apple juice cartons. Snacks. Some books and toys ( we use these if going to cafe/ friends houses also)

4. few snacks for adults. Ie flapjack bars.

5. we have spare thick fleece, blanket for toddler we keep on back seat anyway, picnic rug. torch incase we need to walk somewhere. Waterproof gloves to fit snowchains. Small foldable shovel.

If going somewhere longer or more likely to have bad weather or delays we take flasks full of hot tea and hot chocolate

Old towels to put under wheels if you get stuck . They sometimes give just enough grip to get you going.

Everyone always says water. Fuck that. Who wants water when facing your worst night of the year? Juice, fizzy, sugary shit - loadsa crisps. Carbs don’t count when you’re stuck.

From very recent experience:

• AA app on the phone if you are a member
• Power bank + charging cables
• Hi viz jacket + warm stuff
• paracetamol/ibuprofen
• drink and energy bar/flapjack/crisps
• disposable gloves (for messy under engine stuff)
• rechargeable torch very well charged up
• £20 cash hidden in the glove compartment

Personally I carry a mediwrap thermal emergency blanket - the foil magic blankets are as useful as a dustbin liner when it comes to keeping you warm.

Remember batteries run down very fast in the cold, so keep an eye on them if you leave them in the car.

Keep the petrol tank full
warm coat
winter boots
chocolate bar
drink
phone and charging cable

For me it's loo roll 😂

Agree with others, but also:

Warning triangle
Spare pair of glasses
Road atlas
Cash

its probably one of these types of powerbank / car battery starters:

amzn.eu/d/aNZJBJb

You do need to check the specifications to ensure a particular model will have enough oomph for your engine
I have an older model, and my current car would need more power to get going

These are a good combination of a high mah usb charger, tend to have a torch and battery clamps

You do need to check over your car, as these have short cables and may not be be easy for some modern cars

First aid kit
Warning triangle
Hi vis jackets
Battery charger & jump leads
Gloves
Waterproof pull on trousers
Long waterproof padded coat for winter
Pac a Mac for warmer rainy days
Waterproof boots
Umbrella
Blanket
Head torches
Foil blankets
Water
Snacks
Spare oil
De icer
Scraper & squeegee
Sunscreen
RAC membership!!!!!

I also have an emergency overnight bag in case I have to stop at a hotel for the night. Having read some PP I definitely need to invest in some more things.

Emergency foil blankets
Fluorescent vests
Heat activated hand warmers
Shovel
Hazard triangle
Battery pack
Tyre inflator
Emergency hammer seat belt cutter
Torch
List of emergency numbers - mobiles, breakdown details with policy number.
Spare clothes
Warm jumper/fleece
Waterproof trousers
Waterproof jacket
Thermal socks
Thermal hats /gloves
Crampon grips for shoes
Blankets
Sleeping bag
Ground sheet/tarp
Toddler reins
Medicines - paracetamol (child and adult)
First aid kit
Water /juice/canned coffee
Crackers
Ration pack meals / protein bars
Portable wee device
Wet wipes
Tissues/loo roll
Cat litter
Spare rubber car mats

I always have wellies and water in the car, as well as the car breakdown kit which has a torch in it amongst the usual things. If going on a long journey or somewhere remote when it is cold I always bring:
Second set of clothes big enough to go over what I am wearing
Blanket
Flask of boiling water
Food
Instant hot drink sachets and plastic cups.

Shewee and toilet paper an excellent idea, but would need a plastic bag for used toilet paper! (I always have one in the car)

I generally have a blanket, power bank for phone charging, jacket, spare prescription medication that I need to take, phone, pencil and paper, 2 person first aid kit, a map book, and that's about it.

From experience…Something to read so you aren’t tempted to use up your phone battery! I love a good road map but after 3 hours+ you’re gonna want something else. A couple of old newspapers (multi purpose) and a magazine go a long way.

Wind-up torch and lantern.

Don’t let anything battery powered run down to nothing in case the power banks don’t last as long as you hope. Use wind-ups first.

Store banks/ batteries in your handbag not just the car as cold temps can really shorten battery life.

A power inverter (Halfords etc) that uses the car battery can be handy to plug in normal phone chargers (or even a mini kettle!), although it only helps if your car battery is charged and of course your shouldn’t run you car battery too low either. They can be plugged in via the cigarette lighter/ usb/ off the car battery. More useful for laptops in the days pre smartphone and pre power bank but still handy.

Crisps and chocolate milkshakes

Great thread this. Still have a she wee and toilet roll in the boot though.

I just tow a spare car behind me.

You must be paying a crazy amount for petrol driving that lot around.

How heavy is all of that?

Yes there’s a balance. I keep enough in car that hopefully we don’t freeze and can eat a snack/ water for a few hours max if stuck in accident or similar.
Worse case we would have to sleep in car overnight. I have no plans of trudging days through blizzards with alpine gear on ( and we live in alps). Stay with car is safest in almost all scenarios

As well as all the winter stuff I’d also recommend some high factor sunscreen and a hat (and a pop up sunshade/UV umbrella if you have small kids). A lot of roadsides don’t have much shade and if you’re there for hours then sunstroke is a risk in summer.

In my car I have:
GLOVE COMPARTMENT:

• High vis tabard
• First aid kit (including our medications e.g. my migraine meds and my husband’s inhaler) plus general medicines like paracetamol, antihistamines, Imodium and calpol sachets
• Map
• Torch
• Phone charger cables and power bank.
• £20 cash
• Hand sanitizer and wet wipes

Boot:

• Picnic blanket (it’s wool with a waterproof underneath, so multi-use). And 2 small fleecy blankets.
• Waterproof/warm coats and hats (I buy oversized and cheap ones in a charity shop that can just stay in the car). Gloves and warm hats.
• Cereal bars, juice cartons and water.
• Ice scraper
• Jump leads
• Hazard sign
• Suncream, sunhats and UV umbrella (it also doubles as a rain umbrella)
• Muslin cloth (has a million uses from sunshade to blanket to mopping up sick).
• Spare clothes for the kids (and a spare t-shirt each for me and my husband).
• Baby reins for my toddlers (they hate them but I’d rather they were grumpy than ran into the road).