Winter car emergency kit
What to carry, and what to do if snow traps you on the road.
Every piece of advice has its official source at the end.
All of this, put into a plan for your home, is in the guide Ready in 7 Days.
Before you set off
- Check the forecast for ice or snow warnings, and don't drive unless the journey is essential.
- If you have to go, tell someone your route and when you expect to arrive, and wait until the roads have been gritted if you can.
- Clear all snow and ice from the windows, lights, mirrors and number plates, and from the roof so it doesn't fall on others.
What to carry
De-icer and ice scraper
A frosty windscreen clears in a minute with de-icer and a scraper.
See optionsWarm clothes, boots and blankets
Don't count on the heater: if the car stops, so does the heat. Foil blankets take up almost no room.
Check price: SYNYOUR, 5 blanketsTorch
For the dark and for being seen; a head torch leaves your hands free.
Check price: Lepro, pack of 2Shovel
To dig the wheels out if the car gets stuck in snow.
See optionsJump leads
Batteries fail most in the cold.
Check price: AA, 3 m, up to 3000 ccFirst aid kit
For small injuries while you wait for help.
Check price: HONYAO, 105 piecesWarm drink and food
A flask and something that keeps, in case you are stuck for hours. Water too.
See options
If you get stuck
- Stay with your car and tie something brightly coloured to the aerial.
- Run the engine and heater for about 10 minutes every hour, with a window slightly open.
- Check the exhaust pipe is not blocked by snow: carbon monoxide builds up inside the car.
- Wrap up, head included, stay awake and keep moving your arms and legs.
Don't do this
- Don't run the engine with the exhaust buried in snow.
- Don't drink alcohol to keep warm: it makes your body lose heat faster.
- Don't eat snow: it lowers your body temperature.
The car pack
For a long jam, snow or a breakdown far from anywhere. All of it fits in the car:
USB car charger
With the engine running, outdoors and never in a garage, it charges your phone and power bank.
Our pick: INIU, USB-C and USB
Power bank
10,000 to 20,000 mAh: roughly 2 to 4 phone charges. Recharge it every six months.
Our pick: INIU, 10,000 mAh
Rain poncho
Covers you and the bag at once.
Our pick: Vicloon, pack of 2 with hood
Jump starter
Starts the car with a flat battery without waiting for another one, and charges your phone. Top it up every time the clocks change.
Our pick: TREKURE 5000A, with USB for your phone
The whole pack, with the blankets and the torch, goes to the Amazon basket in one click. If you already have something, tick it in the car pack and its button leaves it out.
The links go to amazon.co.uk and are affiliate links: if you buy through them we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
This does not replace instructions from the police, the road authorities or 999: if they say something different, do what they say.
The car, part of the plan
In Ready in 7 Days, the In depth section has “A car ready to wait”: the car all year, in snow and ice, in a heatwave and with children, older people or pets. Alongside the plan for your home for three days without help.
Keep reading
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