Cars are incredulously dangerous, but during a natural disaster or extreme weather event, they can become a life-saving haven against harsh conditions. In January 2022, US Senator Tim Kaine was one of the hundreds of passengers stranded on Interstate 95 for hours, some overnight, after extreme snowstorms closed the road. A dire situation that would’ve been way easier with extra food, water, and blankets stashed in the car.
Emergency preparedness applies on the road just as much as it does at home, as an elaborate emergency kit is no use if it’s at home and one spends the majority of time at work with their vehicle parked nearby. Vehicle survival and emergency kits require different supplies than at-home kits, and careful planning should go into their curation. Yes, they should contain jumper cables and yes, you should know how to use them.
“If you have one ‘emergency kit,’ it should live in your car,” said Christian Schauf, founder of Uncharted Supply Co., a company that consults about survival and emergency supplies around the world, including on top of Mount Everest. “Emergencies don’t just happen at home. They can happen while you’re at work, on the road, at the gym, etc. Proximity to your emergency kit is the first step. The best emergency kit in the world is useless if you’re miles from it and can’t access it.”
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The supplies for a vehicle emergency kit differ from one designed for home use. “A vehicle emergency kit should be able to sustain your basic needs and should help you manage basic vehicle-related emergencies,” said Nat Sellers, an Emergency Management Director at Augusta Health and The Preparedness Guy on TikTok. Sellers is a former combat medic, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN) responder, and HAZMAT technician. “You don’t really prepare for an emergency, you prepare for how it affects you.”
Rather than an at-home kit, where it’s about hunkering down to survive or hitting the road as fast as possible, a vehicle emergency kit is about surviving in the car until one can get home safely. Vehicle emergency kits are smaller than at-home kits, should be packed compactly, and stored in a part of the vehicle that won’t tempt thieves.
These kits should include supplies for fixing a car during a breakdown — jumper cables, a tire repair kit, car jack — as well as supplies for meeting basic needs in case of a days-long natural disaster, rogue snowstorm, or another unforeseen catastrophe.
The Best Vehicle Survival and Emergency Kits: At a Glance
Thrive Roadside Emergency Car Kit – Car Safety Accessories and Tool Kit
Just like home emergency kits, there are plenty of premade options available that are very convenient. Most of the experts SPY spoke to didn’t recommend a premade kit, as the supplies in them tend to be cheaply made and don’t cover all the bases. It takes more time and effort to curate a pack oneself, but when it comes to surviving hours freezing in the car or fleeing a wildfire at a moment’s notice, the return on investment is about as high as can be.
SPY’s Expert-Backed Vehicle Emergency Kit Checklist
The following is a list of products that our experts recommended for every vehicle emergency kit in the case of a mechanical failure, extreme weather event, or other life-threatening emergency.
Car Repair/Roadside Assistance:
- Jumper cables
- Tow strap
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Glowsticks, LED flashing lights, reflective materials and/or flares
- Reflective safety vest
- Gloves
- Fire extinguisher*
- Duct tape
- Tire plug kit, including an inflator and compressor
- Spare tire, car jack, and tools for changing a flat
A well-curated car kit can mean the difference between a quick fix on the side of the road or waiting hours for assistance. “A car kit should have tire puncture solutions, battery solutions, and visibility solutions in case you’re broken down on a busy highway,” said Schauf. He also recommended considering one’s weather environment and extra vehicle supplies for contending with it: a snow shovel, ice scraper, and tire chains for a cold environment, for example.
Personal Safety/Security Items:
When making a kit, Sellers suggest focusing on the most essential items. “Focus on your needs,” Sellers said. “I cannot state this enough. You have to understand the hazards you are likely to face, but you also have to know how they are likely to impact your basic needs. The most important item in any emergency is…the one you need.”
While our experts recommend curating one’s own supplies because they’re likely to be higher quality and more tailored to one’s individual environment, a premade emergency kit is better than nothing. So SPY’s editors have also curated a list of top-rated vehicle emergency kits for those who don’t have the time or patience to build their own.
Thrive Roadside Emergency Car Kit – Car Safety Accessories and Tool Kit
This is one of the most comprehensive premade car emergency kits one can buy online. It comes with many of the essentials outlined by the pros above including jumper cables, a reflective vest, an escape hammer, a hand-powered flashlight, an ice scraper, grip gloves, and a basic first aid kit. It comes in a large durable canvas bag that’s compact enough to throw in the trunk or middle row, and since it doesn’t include any food or beverage, there’s no need to worry about switching out supplies over time. But be sure to add high-calorie, non-perishable food and plenty of water.
First Secure Car Emergency Safety Kit Bag
Who It’s For: The car-focused prepper who wants their bases covered on the road with minimal effort
The Assessment: This kit is very similar to the one above, albeit with fewer supplies and the addition of a portable air compressor for tire repair or pressure changes. It also includes 300-amp jumper cables for giving a vehicle a boost.
The Hot Take: This kit has some useful supplies for repairing a car on the side of the road, but it’s by no means comprehensive. Be sure to add in additional supplies from the list above.
Everlit Survival Car Emergency Kit
Who It’s For: Space-conscious folks looking to start acquiring vehicle emergency supplies
The Assessment: This premade vehicle emergency kit checks many of the boxes above in a small, compact kit. It has elements like a tow rope and bungee cables for fastening broken car parts if needed. It also includes jumper cables and an air compressor, and the most elaborate first aid kit we could find within a vehicle emergency kit.
The Hot Take: This kit is comprehensive, but it lacks food and water, which means it still doesn’t meet many basic human needs when waiting for roadside assistance or a storm to pass.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vehicle Emergency Kits
Are premade or hand-curated emergency kits better?
“I will almost always recommend building your own kit. The first benefit of doing this is that you probably already have most of the stuff you need at home, you just need to gather it up. Premade kits are often cheap items that are unreliable or will break,” said Sellers.
“They also may not meet the specs for your vehicle. For example, if you drive a large SUV or pickup, the jumper cables from a prepackaged kit may not be able to transfer enough electricity safely. Whatever you use in an emergency kit, whether in a car, at home, or at work, you should be familiar with the items in it and know how to use them.”
How large should an emergency kit be?
Jason Hitchcock, founder of survivalstoic.com and emergency preparedness expert said the size of the emergency kit should be proportional to the size of the vehicle and the number of people in the household.
“Your vehicle emergency kit should not be so big that it becomes an invitation for thieves to break into your car,” said Hitchcock. “The kit should be small enough that it can be stored in your vehicle in an area that is not visible from the outside. For a car with a trunk, this is easy, but for trucks and SUVs this becomes more of a problem.”
He recommended splitting a kit up into multiple bags and fitting them underneath the seats, or storing supplies with their relevant equipment — a tow strap with a spare tire, for example.
Where should a vehicle emergency kit be stored?
“A car emergency kit should be stored wherever you can fit it. I keep some items in the glove compartment, some in the center console, and some in a tote in the back,” said Sellers. He also said that one should have a way to carry supplies from the car if the vehicle becomes unsafe.
“If you have a storage space under the floors, where the seats can fold into, that is an excellent storage space, since it is out of the way of all normal uses.”
Sellers also said that one of the major differences between a home and a car, as it pertains to these kits, is extreme temperatures. “This can diminish the shelf life of stored food or water.
Keep that in mind, but more frequent rotation can remedy that problem.”