When an emergency arises, there’s nothing like being prepared. Just like rehearsing your lines for a presentation, practicing for a performance, or training for a race, intentional preparation matters.
It can be scary to run through the scenarios that present danger to you and your loved ones. However, considering the risks and creating plans to mitigate emergencies might be the difference between surviving unscathed and the worst.
Learn how the right gear can keep you and your family safe at home and on the road.
Lighting for Self and Safety
Reliable, dynamic illumination tops the list for any safety kit. In the car, an LED flashlight guides the way alongside the road and inside the vehicle. A rechargeable LED flashlight provides long-lasting lighting and comes in many iterations.
Flashlights come with clips, which can be attached to sun visors and car hoods. Others offer magnetic bases, making for easier roadside vehicle repairs. Small keychain flashlights easily stash in the glove box, seat back pocket, and in your home emergency kit.
Incorporate LED headlamps into your kit for hands-free lighting, which makes gathering supplies or helping others easier. Look for a flashlight with a range of settings that work for different environments and manage battery life. Include the charging cord and a battery pack in your kit to recharge your flashlight during an emergency.
Safety Tools
Upgrade the basics inside your vehicle to allow escape from the worst situations. In an accident, you can become trapped in your seat.
Stash a seatbelt cutter in your center console to keep a swift escape within reach. These ultra-sharp cutters slice through strong seatbelt material that can become pinned or locked up after high impacts.
Another specific safety item to include in your center console is a glass break tool. Automobile glass is designed to shatter in place. If you need to escape, it can be difficult to break it with just a kick.
A glass break tool is often affixed to an LED flashlight, which may also include a seatbelt cutter. The fine-tipped end will fracture auto glass so you can escape a vehicle fire or an aquatic disaster. Keep these items within reach for the driver and away from young children to avoid injury.
Repair Essentials
Some vehicles come equipped with repair essentials, while others are void of them completely. First, review the basics that are stowed away in your vehicle from the manufacturer.
Confirm the presence of an inflated, good-condition spare tire. Some vehicles come with a small spare or a full-size spare; Oftentimes, vehicles that do come with a spare include a small tire jack. Take these items out and practice with them and confirm their functionality and replace if necessary.
Prepare a basic tool set with a hammer, an interchangeable screwdriver, and a socket wrench that fits your tire lug nuts. These basics will allow you to complete roadside repairs with ease. Upgrade your kit with a jump box, which allows you to charge your dead battery solo.
First Aid Kit and Medication
Prepare a basic first aid kit to treat and sanitize injuries. Include an antiseptic, bandages, and antibacterial ointment. Add medical tape and gauze for larger injuries, and stitch bandage for gashes.
If you require certain medication, keep a couple of days’ supply in your kit. Blood pressure, medication, inhalers, and insulin are a few examples of backup items. Add any life-saving medication you might need like an EpiPen if anyone in your family requires it.
Clothes and Required Gear
Year-round, maintain an extra change of clothes for each family member and travel goer in your kit. Cycle these items based on growth to ensure children’s clothes fit.
Include basic personal care essentials, like toilet paper, diapers and wipes, and feminine hygiene products. If you are stranded for days or sheltering in place, these items will help you stay clean until help arrives.
Blankets and waterproof tarps to create a barrier between sleeping areas and the ground or to assemble a makeshift shelter. These items all help keep you and your supplies dry, which is critical when navigating a disaster.
Food and Water
Keep a generous stash of bottled water and shelf-stable food in your vehicle and home emergency kit. An extra case of bottled water, nutrition, bars, and beef sticks provide life-saving energy that lasts.
Keep food appropriate for your household and travel group. If you have small children, include baby formula and a clean bottle and kid-appropriate snacks.
Analog Navigation
If your phone is dead, a map may be your saving grace. If you’re on a road trip, stash state-specific maps for your travel route plus a nationwide map.
State maps offer greater detail into small roadways that can help you navigate without the Internet. These can be especially helpful if you’ve gone off-course or are in an accident.
Practice Your Emergency Plan to Stress Test, Improve Your Kit
Conduct a tabletop exercise and full walk-through of your emergency plans in each venue. For families with children, do this with adults first to work out the initial kinks. Then, involve everyone to get valuable input and identify gaps.
By talking and walking through potential scenarios, you can improve your plan, ease anxiety, and ensure everyone is prepared. Review your plan and examine your kit at least twice a year to ensure its viability.
Charge batteries, replace food and add any items based on family dynamics and needs. When you do, you’ll be ready when disaster strikes with a plan and a kit to guide you through.
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