Hello my name is Cindy Nelson I'm a family consumer science extension agent for
Utah State University, in Beaver County.
Today we will talk about how to assemble an emergency car kit.
There are many reasons why we need to have a car kit.
We spend so much time in our vehicle.
I want you to think about your busy life and how much time you actually
spend driving or in a car. We spend a lot of time taking our kids to lessons or
driving to work. Possibly going to the doctor, or running errands. We also spend
a lot of time in our vehicle if we are going on vacation and possibly traveling
across country. We need to be prepared for any emergencies we have in our vehicle
So we need to have a car kit available for us. There are numerous reasons why we
could be stranded in our car and have an emergency on the road. It could be
something as simple as running out of gas or having a flat tire, or minor engine
problems. To something that is more serious and dangerous such as being
stranded on the road due to poor weather conditions or natural disasters such as
floods, fires, or earthquakes.We could also be stranded in remote areas where
assistance is not readily available. When we talk about a car emergency kit think
about a 72 hour kit on the go. A lot of the items in your car emergency kit come
from your 72 hour kit and then you add items specific to a car emergency. Let's
start with the basic items we would have. The first one we are going to start with
is a first aid kit.Everyone should have a
basic first aid kit whether it's large like this or even a smaller first aid kit
that has your basic equipment in that. With your first aid kit be aware that you
need to have medications some common medications like ibuprofen or benadryl for
allergy emergencies are great. And if you have a sever allergy and are prescribed
an epiPen make sure you have your epiPen available, because this could be a life
threatening situation. Another thing that you should have in your kit is a supply
of food. Some snacks, granola bars, anything that will give you high energy
and the calories that you need. Also store some nonperishable items. If you choose
to store items that are in a can make sure you remember your can opener.
One of the most important things to have is water. You should always have water
available with you in your vehicle. Along with the water that you store in your
vehicle you can have a water that has either a filter system or a water purifier
This allows you to drink water from melted snow or from streams if you are stranded
for an extended amount of time. It's important that you have items to keep you
warm in cold weather conditions. Emergency blankets often will come in small packets
like this that are easily stored. Also you should have warm clothes to include gloves
and winter clothes. A towel is a great option to have too. The microfiber towels
are nice because they are highly absorbent and they dry quickly.
Don't forget your matches.
A lighter is also something that you could carry in your car at all times in case
you needed to start a fire.
Also you should carry cash in your car and have a notebook and paper in your car
along with some of your contacts. It's important that you have contacts for
family members maybe your doctor or your mechanic, your insurance company along
with you. In the past most of us have had this in written form but now that we have
cell phones and smart phones we can have those contacts on our phones. This brings
me to something very important. It's great to have the contact on your phone but if
your phone battery dies you don't have access to that. So make sure not only you
have your phone but you have your phone charger. Also if your engine is working
you can use your car phone charger, but if it's not how will you keep your phone
charged? There are some great phone chargers out there that are battery
operated or solar operated that you can take with you and use in any kind of
emergency.
Now that we have our basic supplies for a 72 hour kit we are going to talk about
items that need to be in your vehicle emergency kit. We will begin with this
orange reflective vest. It's important to have this if you are stranded or in a area
that's high traffic to keep yourself safe. Make sure you know where your jack and
your spare tire are in your vehicle and that you have your lug wrench ready and
available there. This is an emergency sign that can be hung on your antenna or
in your vehicle to attract attention. Also you can have flares to help in the event
of an emergency. It's always good to have your starter jumper cables to assist in
starting a vehicle that has had engine trouble. If you will include bungee cords
tie downs there's also a rope available in case you need to tow someone or be
towed yourself in the vehicle. It's great to have a map with you so that you'll know
the area and where you can get assistance more quickly. You can also have a small
tool set that would be available for minor repairs on your car or engine.
Here we have a snow scraper and brush and a variety of flashlights. It's good to
have flashlights. This one here is one that you shake to make work. This is a
crank or wind up flashlight and then here is one that has batteries. Make sure you
the extra batteries so that they do work. I'd like to talk about one of my favorite
can't live without emergency basics. It's a power unit. This power unit has various
resources that you can use. There are jumper cables to help start your car.
It has an air compressor. It also has a light that can be used as a spot light
and many of them have flashing lights available. It has a DC adapter that you
could charge your phone or any other equipment and many of them have a power
plug that are included on this. This one right here actually has a USB port where
I could charge my phone using my USB port. So that's another option for a phone
charger with that. As you can see by what is on this table there are many items that
can be included in your emergency car kit. If we were to try and get all of these
items into our car we wouldn't have space for anything else. So we need to know how
to pack that emergency kit. There are options of taking a backpack. This is just
a simple backpack and you can put quite a bit of equipment in here and just store
this in your trunk. So that it's readily available.You could also take smaller
items put them in a smaller bag or pack and store them in the cubbies in your car
There are many areas in your car that you could put these. You could put some in the
glove box or under the seats or in the door. Many cars are equipped now with
extra storage under their seats or in the trunk area. So that it would be easy to
make sure that you have each of those in those small areas. Lastly just to talk
to you about ready made kits you can buy. This is one of my favorites because it is
small and compact and easy to store in your car. It contains many things.
It has some first aid it has a poncho, has a whistle and a compass and things
like that. That you can, that you will need in case of an emergency. So be aware
that you can purchase this in a ready made kit or you can go ahead and assemble one
that meets your family needs. It's important that you be prepared with
information, tools, and emergency supplies in your vehicle at all times. Remember to
drive safe and be prepared and assemble your emergency kit today.