As winter approaches, my wife and I will be doing quite a bit of driving to visit various people for the holiday season. With winter conditions, we’re going to be quite cautious about our trips. The first step in that journey is to make sure that we have everything we need in the car in case of an emergency of some kind. These supplies are the ultimate form of insurance – they help ensure that we’ll get through a real emergency safe and sound.

Here are 10 things that go into our automobiles in November and stay in there until April.

• Blankets are the most important thing you can possibly have with you. If you bury your car in a snowdrift and it won’t start, the ability to keep yourself warm is going to be absolutely vital. Blankets are the best way to do this.
• Flashing LED lights will help rescuers see you. If they’re searching and all they can see is white, a flashing light will make all the difference in your discovery.
• Extra winter clothes will help you keep warm, especially if you need to leave the vehicle. Layers are key – the more layers of clothes you can put on, the warmer you’ll be down at the surface of your skin.
• Jumper cables come in extraordinarily handy on cold mornings when your car doesn’t start. Quite often, it’s the result of a battery that became overly cold overnight and can be started with the help of another vehicle and some jumper cables.
• A bag of sand not only adds weight to your car (improving traction) but can be spread to help you get traction if you get stuck in a bad position.
• An ice scraper – preferably one with a brush to help remove snow – comes in constant handy throughout the winter. Without it, it will be very difficult to keep your windows cleared.
• Dried foods like beef jerky and granola bars are perfect for this type of situation, as they’re energy dense. Don’t keep water or other liquids in your car – they’ll explode if stored below freezing for a long period and you can likely get plenty of liquid in a blizzard – just look outside.
• Flashlights allow you to see what’s going on in the dark and also aid in signaling help. Although flashlights operated by human action exist, they’re not very bright – get one with a very bright (LED) bulb and make sure it’s charged.
• A shovel will help you to dig out in a pinch. I used to keep one in my truck when I commuted – for a smaller car, you can purchase a fold-able spade that can come in handy in a pinch..
• A small tool kit can allow you to fix minor problems yourself on your car. Make sure you have everything you need to (at least) change a tire and loosen or tighten some bolts.
• Extra batteries for the flashlight are vital. The last thing you want to do is to get stuck, pull out the flashlight, flip ’em on, and find that it doesn’t work.
• And the most important item is A smart phone and it’s charger that will allow you to call 9-1-1or have the new Brickyard Towing app downloaded so with two clicks you’re talking to one of our friendly dispatchers and get you out of that pinch.

These tools will help you survive almost any winter weather accident, no matter how bad the storm. By keeping warm and safe and making sure that you can signal to help, you’re doing everything you can to ensure your safety and your future.