There’s a saying which could sum up everything about life: ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’. It applies to all fields of our lives, including our cars. Let’s say you’re looking forward to a fun trip in your nice car. You’ve been planning this trip for months! On D-Day, you pack up what you’ll ‘need’ for the trip and off you go. About sixty kilometers out of town, you realize that the car is overheating, you forgot to check the water levels. As a result, you spend two or three hours by the road side, desperately waiting for help. Your trip is ruined. That’s just one example of the many things that could go wrong on the road. Therefore, it is always important that you be prepared. Below are 10 essential things in car you must always have.
1. First Aid Kit:
The most important thing is your life, health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is very important that you have a first aid kit, in case you or another person gets involved in an accident while on the road. A basic first aid kit may contain: plasters in a variety of different sizes and shapes – small, medium and large sterile gauze dressings. It should also have a pair of scissors (or razor blades) and a good amount of cotton.
2. Repair Kit:
A repair kit or service kit is a set of items used to repair a device, commonly comprising both tools and spare parts. It comprises of various sizes of spanners, duct tape, screw drivers, etc. This will come in handy when you need to do a simple repair job on your car.
3. Jumper Cables:
Jumper Cables are used to “jump start” an engine when the battery runs out. You connect them from your battery to the terminals of another car’s (working) battery. So, this makes it possible for you to start your engine. Especially, this is applicable to petrol engines.
4. Car Manual:
You should keep the car manual in the dash board. It shows blueprints (images and illustrations) about everything in the car. This can be helpful in case you want to fix something, say a flat tire. It shows you the bolt sizes and the internal arrangement of systems.
5. Spare Tyre:
There are countless times that a motorist encounters a flat tyre on the road. Just about every driver has ever experienced it. That’s why it’s important to always have a spare tyre. There’s always a space provision in which you can fit a spare tyre. It is normally in the hatch or at the bottom of the vehicle. In SUVs, it is at the back, always.
6. Fire Extinguisher:
I know what you’re thinking, in all your life of driving, you have never encountered a fire. But who knows? It could happen today or tomorrow or next week. You can have a small fire extinguisher to put out localized fires that would otherwise spread out and cause more damage.
7. Clean towels:
Clean towels will ensure that the interior is clean at all times. You can also use them during repair, cleaning surfaces and dirt. You should have about at least three in your car at any given time. An alternative to clean towels is clean rags. They can serve the same purpose.
8. Bottled Water:
Yes, water! They say water is life. We can use water for a wide scope of things. Of course, you can use it for quenching your thirst. God knows a lot of time in the cabin of a car can be dehydrating. Besides, you can use for cleaning surfaces. For example, one can top up their water levels in case the engine is overheating. In conclusion, you should always keep about 5 liters of bottled water in your car.
9. USB Phone Charger:
You can never foresee the possibility of your phone losing charge. You might forget an application open and your battery is out in an hour or two. Therefore, you need to keep a USB phone charger in your car at all times. In case you are stranded, you’ll be able to call for help.
10. Identity Card:
Last but not least, you need to bring your identity card, always. An identity card tells people who you are, what you do and where you come from. You must always carry one, in case you’re involved in an accident and paramedics want to contact your family.
So, there you go. Have the above things in your car, at all times, and you can face any kind of challenge on the road. They may not completely solve the problem at hand, but they’ll keep you on the road until you can find a repair shop.
Some may think that the items take up a lot of space, but all the above things are small and can be fitted in a small box. Give us feedback if this article was of helpful to you.
