Last time I posted about preparing your home for the winter, I thought I would do the same for vehicles as most people don’t normally bother.

I have posted before about car emergency kits but I thought it would be a good idea to expand on it for winter.

Firstly, now is a good time to service your vehicle to ensure that everything is working correctly and tyres which may be low on tread are replaced.

Top up all of your fluid levels like oil, break, coolant and power steering but also see that your windscreen wash has extra concentrate to deal with poor weather and to stop it freezing.

Spend some time taking out your spare tyre and tools to make sure that it is serviceable and nothing is missing, so if required you could change a flat in the dark.

Make up a mini 72hr emergency kit, or survival kit, for the car which can be used if you become stranded or stuck somewhere until the weather improves. It should contain the following:


• Warm clothes – inc hat/gloves etc;
• Waterproof jacket (& trousers);
• Golf umbrella;
• Blanket;
• Breakdown kit (see older post on breakdown kit);
• Fuel can;
• 1 litre bottle of drinking water;
• Non-perishable food and snacks;
• Torch;
• Ice scraper (or use credit card in emergency);
• Clean cloth for wiping windscreen whilst driving.

You should also store at home a severe weather car kit which you can take with you when expecting snow or ice:


• Extra warm clothing;
• Shovel;
• Grit;
• Lengths of old carpet (to put under tyres when stuck).

This is not designed to cover every eventuality but should form a solid start for you to build on depending on your own circumstances. For example, I also carry cylumes/glow sticks, a small strobe light to make my car and I more visible at night and a mobile phone charging system.

Have a good think about what you could do with and be prepared.

Until next time, don’t delay, prepare today!