What Actually Belongs in a Winter Car Emergency Kit

You don’t need the forty-item list. You need the six things that get used. Most winter emergency kits are packed once, never opened, and are missing the one thing that would have helped. This is the short version, built around what actually goes wrong on the roads around Woodstock: a dead battery, a ditch, a closed highway, and a long cold wait.

The six that matter

1. A lithium booster pack. The single most useful thing in the trunk. It starts a car with a flat battery without needing a second car or a helpful stranger, and it charges your phone. Keep it charged — top it up every couple of months, and know that the cold drains it faster.
2. A folding shovel. For digging out of the snowbank the plow left across the driveway end, or clearing the tailpipe if you’re stuck and running the engine for heat. Cheap, small, used every winter.
3. Traction aid. A bag of cat litter or sand, or a pair of traction mats. Gets a stuck front-wheel-drive car out of a slick spot when nothing else will.
4. A warm blanket and a spare toque and mitts. If the 401 closes behind a jackknifed transport, you may be in the car for hours. A running engine keeps you warm until it doesn’t; a blanket keeps you warm after that.
5. A flashlight with fresh batteries. Breakdowns happen at 5:30 in the dark. A headlamp is even better because it leaves both hands free.
6. A snow brush and scraper — obvious, and the one people leave in the garage after the first thaw.

Worth adding

• Booster cables, even with the pack — the pack can be flat.
• A small first-aid kit and any medication you can’t go a day without.
• A bottle of water and something to eat that won’t freeze solid or spoil — granola bars, nuts.
• A reflective triangle or flares, so the next car sees you before it’s on top of you.
• A phone charger cable that fits your phone, and a paper list of the numbers you’d actually call.
• A litre of winter washer fluid. Salt spray on a February highway empties the reservoir faster than you’d believe.

What to do if you’re stuck

Stay with the vehicle unless you can see shelter. Clear the snow from around the exhaust before running the engine, and run it about ten minutes an hour for heat rather than continuously — both for fuel and for carbon monoxide. Crack a window slightly on the side away from the wind. Put the hazards on and hang something bright on the antenna or mirror. Then wait; the plow and the OPP both patrol the main routes.

Before you set out

Most of the emergencies the kit is for start with a vehicle that wasn’t ready. The short list: winter tires on, a battery that’s been tested, a full tank in a storm (it’s heat if you’re stranded), and a windshield you can see through.

Common questions

Where should the kit live?

In the trunk or cargo area, in one bag, so it moves between vehicles and doesn’t get spread around and lost. The booster pack can ride in the cabin where it’s warmer.

Do I need a kit if I only drive in town?

A smaller one. The booster pack, shovel, brush and blanket cover in-town trouble. The rest is for the highway.

Are the pre-made kits from the hardware store any good?

They’re a fine starting point, and usually short a booster pack and a real shovel. Add those two and you’re set.

This article is part of our guide to winter driving in Oxford County. If you’d rather not test the kit, have the vehicle looked over before the snow — book an appointment at Rick’s Automotive in Woodstock.