Vehicle Emergency Preparedness

As a member of the fire service I’ve always taken into account the possibility of encountering emergencies while traveling or out and about. Most vehicle owners store jumper cables, tire flat repair kits, or a roadside side kit of some sort. In addition, I’ve included a fire extinguisher, traditional road flares, LED road flares, callum grade glow sticks, proper rescue rope, ratchet tie downs, bungie tie downs, enhanced first aid kit, small bag of handled tools, seatbelt cutter/glass break under front seat, and other rescue tools & equipment in my vehicle. Anyone else travel with similar equipment or any other items?

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Oh yeah! I also carry a special kit; bailing wire, paracord, vice-grips, Duct tape, WD-40 and a screw driver. I was out in the middle of nowhere in a snow storm and my throttle cable broke on my truck. I wired my carburetor with wire then hooked the paracord to it then ran it out from the hood of the truck to my window then tied a stick to it and hand throttled my way back home.

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After 15 years in Search and Rescue, ya, I got stuff in my buggy. I still carry a Water Rescue and a light Rappelling kit, along with extra food, clothes, tools and fluids for the vehicle and GHB. :us:

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I carry everything @G.Washington and @Todd30 have (except I do need to add the road flares). Plus I also carry a high volume air compressor, ratcheting come along, tow/extraction strap, shovel, bow saw, hatchet and some ply wood and carpeting for getting out of sand and mud.

Also always have a week’s worth of food and water, a sleeping bag and pad, tarp, and cooking and fire starting gear. May sound like overkill but I often work in the middle of nowhere on my own. Even if I had cell service in most these areas, AAA would not be willing or able to come get me out. And if the sun decides to burp when I’m in the field I might have a very long walk home.

All this is in my work vehicle which we also use on family road trips. The family commuter has a significantly paired down, but still pretty capable, set of gear.

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Oh and as @BRUCE26 just reminded me. I also carry a quart of oil and power steering fluid, some break fluid, a gallon of radiator fluid, and a spare set of belts for the engine. And bolt cutters for when people put illegal padlocks on gates on public land.

Also carry a spare key in my wallet to get me into the car if I lose the main one. One of my coworkers locked their key in their car once and cost them $500 to have someone come out and get them in. Which is why I also now carry a small pry bar. Learned that a pry bar and long thin stick can get you into most modern cars if you don’t mind scratching the paint. Only used to rescue coworkers of course!

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A cordless drill, a pair of pliers and some deck screws will help with tire punctures
A plastic bucket and rope helped me get enough water out of a canal to fill the radiator and get us to town for a new hose.

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I bring a tire inflator and jumper cables.

I’m intrigued that you mentioned fire extinguisher.
Does storing it in your car under the summer sun affect its useful life or effectiveness?

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I often work in the Mojave Desert in the summer (occasionally 120 outside and often hotter in the vehicle) haven’t had one explode yet. Did have one leak into the storage tub due to too much bouncing around on old abandoned 2 tracks. The spray head loosened up just enough to loose pressure but most of the flame retardant stayed in the extinguisher.

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I have everything but the glowsticks but something I will be adding.

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Man you all make me feel lost. All I carry is 2 or more pistols, a knife and 2 cell phones :upside_down_face:

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My wife used to be in EMS so Yes we have a very stocked emergency medical bag, along with the other supplies like you carry. :+1: :us: :us:

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Does a Sat phone count? Out here in Wyoming…oming…oming…oming (echo) there are a lot of dead spots.

I also carry jerky etc and when I’m towing I make sure I have extra fuel. Towns in Wyoming and Montana can be far and few between and convenient stores aren’t necessarily open 24/7.

You city folk have it easy with a Walmart within 20mins LOL. I can go hours and if I’m lucky, see another car.

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@Clinton I carry white, red and orange. 6 of each.:+1:

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I am SHOCKED that no one has mentioned duct tape…

I still keep jumper cables just in case, but have switched to battery jumpers now. It means you don’t need to wait for another person/car/service, you can solve that particular problem yourself.

If you encounter someone asking for a jump, and it looks like a sketchy situation you can give them the battery jumper and leave without a guilty conscience that maybe you left someone in need high and dry, but also have listened to your spidey-sense and avoided possible problems.

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Think @Todd30 mentioned the all important duct tape and wire. Can fix a lot of things with those two items!

And I have one of those small lithium battery jumpers in my work vehicle. Saved me a long walk once. Just get a good one and test it from time to time. The first one I bought didn’t work at all.

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My neck of woods, fair share of rain. Invested in a good rain coat a while back, very light weight but solid. Easy to store in my vehicle. Candles, seat-belt cutters, first-aid kit, fire-starter kit, hat, gloves.

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Im glad “beancounter” brought up the fire extinguisher. i too am career fire/rescue and the first thing on my list is a 5 lb fire extinguisher along with a whole tool box of the other stuff.

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I have never been a firefighter, nor a medic, nor mechanic.
I don’t carry a lot. Each car has a jack, jumper cables, a tow rope, flashlight, emergency knife, and tourniquet. The emergency kit I have has some reflectors, a blanket, and some bandages, but nothing significant. I don’t have a fire extinguisher, but now that you’ve all brought it up I will look into that.

In short, I know my limitations. I can get myself or someone else out of some basic situations, but I’m not trying to fix anyone’s vehicle on the side of the road. I have a phone and know how to dial 911 or AAA.

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This is good @Burdo, I keep a Hi-Vis Parka department issued that stays in my vehicle. Anytime roadside day/night I throw on something Reflective or Hi-Vis at minimum a vest I personally purchased.

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I respect your comment “know your limitations” that’s a valid point to consider. Agreed, I’m not trying to repair vehicles roadside as you stated thats’s what AAA or a recovery service is for, my point of view making this post and preparedness is geared towards natural disasters or emergency situations that may arise while commuting.

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