Stuck in the Car? Essential Items for Your Car’s Winter Survival Kit

A massive snowstorm buried the East Coast recently, stranding hundreds of motorists along the I-95 corridor in freezing temperatures after a major crash involving several tractor-trailers. Many were stuck for 24 hours or more, and without food or water other than what happened to be in their vehicles. If you were driving through Virginia that day, would you have been one of those who weren’t prepared? If you’re unsure, the answer is probably “yes.”

We all need to have a car survival kit. That’s a given. But your kit needs to be flexible. It needs to grow and change depending on where your vehicle will be at any given moment. And if you’re traveling? You need to review it before you hit the road. Many of those stranded motorists in Virginia were families from the Northeast who had driven down to Florida for the holidays.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of stuff you may want to consider stashing in your vehicle if you’re driving in winter. Plenty of these are common-sense items, like emergency flares and power packs. But several are winter-specific; for example, did you know that while water bottles will freeze solid, juice boxes and pouches will not?

Still others are designed to make you locatable in the event of a winter emergency. There were no fatalities on I-95 because it’s a main thoroughfare, and everyone was stuck in the same place. Imagine being stranded, alone, on a mountain road in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard, though. Will you be able to let emergency responders know where you are? And will you have what you need to survive until they arrive?

If you’re driving in winter, keep your car survival kit up to date with these key essentials.

Essentials for Your Next Winter Road Trip

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