To remind people to have a breakdown bag in their car?

[JustWantCoffee]

This is a seriously un-smug post, as I do have a breakdown bag in my car, but today I have broken down in a vehicle that is not my car, and I do not have my breakdown bag.

I have therefore been shivering by the side of a motorway for nearly 2hrs getting colder and colder wishing I had my breakdown bag.

so if you don’t have one, I would thoroughly recommend making one. Mine has a hat, gloves, warm jumper, waterproof mac, small towel, water, biscuits, torch and a phone battery in it.

Never have I wanted that old hat and pair of gloves so much, and am trying to work out at what point the risk of hypothermia overtakes the risk of sitting in the vehicle…

I am now in bed. DH is still with vehicle, now in a service station car park rather than next to the motorway... I guess this allows them to downgrade it as it is now a 'place of safety'. So, over 5 hours since breaking down, still not home.

@WellIdontknowwhattocallmyself I'm so sorry you ended up hospitalised... getting cold is dangerous. I feel very lucky today for the choices I made this morning in wearing my fur lined boots (firsrt time this yr) and proper coat rather than usual just suit jacket with a kagool for emergencies... think it would've had to be the take chances in the vehicle option.

Better I go to bed now but my first thought about having a 'Breakdown Bag' in the car wasn't vehicle related,and involved things like Valium, soothing music and optional extras like balloons and incense.

Generally for any vehicle related breakdown I call the AA, the vehicle organization not the Anon one. Nighty night all.

think I could survive out of my car for a couple of days, but that's more because of slobbishness and not being bothered to take stuff inside than organised thinking
We're kindred spirits. Mine isn't bad at the moment, but I'm sure some times I could survive a weekend sleeping in it.

@TheHateIsNotGood a bag of those items would be helpful too as you wait for a breakdown service.

Glad you got home OP hopefully your DH isn't left too much longer.

We got a new car last month and I've just remembered this is why we had a foil blanket in the glove box of the old one! I need to check I repacked it into the new car. Thinking about it, I packed the old car's breakdown kit pre-kids so it definitely needs updating, thanks for the reminder!

This is useful advice. I always take a few snacks and a bottle of water having been stuck in a motorway jam for 3 hours before, and a travel John! My family roll their eyes at me. However, not really thought about hat and gloves so will add them.

There are two fleece blankets that live in my car (both for breakdowns & children post falling in rivers), an umbrella & water. my bag always has the phone recharger & some secret goodies to feed flailing children in extremis.

I also make children take an extra layer on every car trip "in case we break down" yes they do roll their eyes.

none of this helped when I foolishly drank a pint of water after a 3 hour walk only half an hour from home... we broke down on the slip road of the motorway, the RAC took 2 hours....I was nearly crying with the need to pee.

In summary I would suggest any breakdown kit requires some way to pee!

Also the stats for being hit on the side of the road are terrifying so I would & have put myself & children over a fence barbed wire or not.

I hope your DH is home soon (& the car doesn't cost too much!)

Really appreciate this advice OP.
I would never have considered it
Thankyou

So smart, and yes! I second all this!

when I moved to New England my DH made sure I had one of these. It has water, blankets, thermoblanket, canned sardines ( 😂), flashlight, wool socks, hat gloves, and an AAA (road side assurance) membership. It is paramount to have this stuff, specially once the nights start getting cold. Water and canned food is always in car, regardless of season.

Battery packs for phones are a must for a breakdown bag IMHO.

I had AA for both and on a busy night they would only offer a £2 per mile service - when they found out who the insurer was, this became 3 separate journeys over an unspecified time period.
Foolishly, I gave more information than I should, which enabled them to wriggle out of helping.
Don't make my mistakes.

There will be an expert with more knowledge, but getting a strong person in the passenger seat to push out the windscreen with their feet might be easier.
It took a 16 stone man with a 2-pound hammer and a very large phillips screwdriver to break the driver's side window of a Land Rover (Freelander) when the battery failed. They have no mechanical locks.

How could they do this?? I bought it as two separate transactions.

Thanks for the heads up @Jurisprudense

Just a heads up I have twice left a car on the hard shoulder of a motorway . I informed the police who told me to go . AA still collected the car ,although police were helpful and I had mitigating conditions ( 3 month old baby and 9 year old with severe autism and just my sim with autism second time ) .

Best chance of Getting out of a sinking vehicle seems to involve unwinding the windows ASAP IIRC, and getting out of those. I keep a little break glass emergency hammer in each car door for in case I need to do that.

I'm sure somewhere in the thread this has been mentioned, but high viz reflective waistcoat or jacket and warning triangle are essentials. The likelihood of a secondary accident reduces when visibility of the vehicle and the human(s) increases.

I also have foil blankets, an actual blanket, bin bags (sitting in wet ground/make do rain coats etc) spare car mats year round (can be used for tyre grip to get boot of mud/ice etc) and I add in some yellow plastic snow mats in winter.

I also keep oil, antifreeze and spare bulbs etc in a little box. Jump leads and a rather pricey but worry saving battery jumping thing that can charge a car battery or be used for power (charging phones etc if the car battery dies.

I have a mini fire extinguisher which the chap thought was ridiculous until his rear windscreen motor caught fire last year in his campervan - next to the bedding etc.. wasn’t so ridiculous then. Harumph.

ive had a few breakdowns and accidents over the last 30 years and always worried about not being prepared so the emergency kit has grown. I’m always a plan B/C person and it’s part of my work to make contingency plans!

I used to regularly travel between Bristol and Lancashire, I had blankets etc but also had a portable gas stove, a pan and some tinned food. Never needed it thankfully but I got stuck in London at 18 in the middle of the night in Jan. During the pandemic I had to take my mum to multiple hospital appointments which meant spending a long time in the car so I bought an electric coat. Best investment ever as long as I remember to charge the battery pack.

Hope you’ve managed to get sorted and are now warm.

I keep bottles of yFood in my car. It's a meal replacement and lasts for months.

This has reminded me to sort my car out. To be fair it's such a mess I have enough clothes for about 10 layers but I should be more organised
Going to get a foil blanket as they don't take up much room. I do have a hat, gloves and torch in there at least!

I was with the AA, stranded Christmas last year. Myself, my severely disabled mother and a 6 month old baby in the car. They gave me an original timeslot which kept getting pushed back, I waited in total over 4 hours. They're busy, I get that, but with the demographics of the people in the car, we should've been prioritised.

I wrote and complained, stating that I understood they were busy and that there was a wait however that wasn't my complaint, my complaint was the fact that they didn't put a priority flag on our case. They wrote back simply saying they were busy, completely ignored what I had said my complaint was about (the priority) and told me that the case was now closed and I could go to the ombudsman if I wanted. Such a poor service.

Glad you are safe now, OP.
I have usually had fairly swift service from the AA on the few occasions I’ve had to call them over the years.

The last time was about 5 yrs ago - I was parked in a very remote station car park and returned home on train around 7pm to find a flat battery. Clearly not in immediate danger as not on hard shoulder, and no children with me - but was supposed to be prioritised as a lone woman/dark/late/very isolated spot/winter. I could safely wait in the locked vehicle. They took 5 HOURS to arrive - but kept saying it would be “just” 30 mins ETA, which would update to 30 mins later etc. I wouldn’t have stayed that long had I known, but kept thinking, “oh well 30 mins that”s doable”. I’d eaten my meagre coat pocket rations and had to pee in the hedge in desperation. No drink but at least had a book and charged mobile.

What really freaked me was that they also sent a “trusted partner” which was a guy in an unmarked van with no ID. In retrospect very dangerous of me to have got out of vehicle to him, but he did at least know my name. Not sure whether I was more scared of staying where I was at that point! He was pleasant but useless - charged me a fortune for a new battery which then turned out to fail a few days later, and needed to buy another new one. Don’t think he had any understanding of how scary to wait alone for that length of time.

The whole point of the AA or RAC for me is that they are a big company, hence you would expect timely assistance, prioritising those at risk, arriving in an identifiable vehicle, and getting you back on the road.

Thankfully haven’t had to call them since - really should have complained at the time. You have prompted me to sort an emergency bag tomorrow!

This is a great thread, thanks OP and glad you are all tucked up now.

My car is full of many 'breakdown aids' but they are scattered throughout:
High Viz armbands - passenger door
Small torch - Driver's door
Large torch - Under passenger seat
High Viz jacket - under Driver's seat
Battery pack - passenger rear seat pocket
Bottled water - under Driver's seat
Emergency plastic 'bowl' 🤐Under passenger seat
Scissors & plasters - glove compartment.

In the event of a breakdown I would need to scramble around the car to find anything, so definitely need a bag of sorts - and to add a blanket.

I would suggest: Mixed unsalted nuts, (not roasted) Kendal Mintcake, Fisherman's Friends and Uncle Joe's mint balls to keep spirits up and create calorie energy 😋 kept in small Ziplock bags or airtight containers.

I have all that stuff in my car plus a thing to cut the seatbelt/smash a window.

What I don't have is breakdown cover! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you for posting, I haven't got a breakdown bag in the car. Will do one, as I'm pregnant and travelling with 2 kids most of the time. Cold and hungry on the side of the road would be a disaster.

I will sort out a car kit now I read this thread, lots of ideas to keep in it. I will definitely need some way of having a wee without crouching down as I have restricted mobility and cab barely stand up let alone bend down! Hopefully having a blue badge will make me a priority.

I do have a very well equipped hospital bag which I check regularly and restock with in date food and water etc. It had so much in it now as I keep adding things but living alone I think it’s important to avoid strangers having to root around trying to find things! One thing I need to add is a battery power pack to charge my phone, I do have one but it lives with my emergency lighting bag along with candles, torches and batteries. I guess I need 2, one for my car bag as well.

I have so many ideas, I’m going to need a very large bag! Luckily I have the Ford Puma which has a huge deep well underneath the floor of the boot for extra storage.