Many years ago, and I mean many, way back in the early 1990’s, I got stuck on the M1 for many hours. It was December, freezing fog had descended and a Petrol tanker had decided to crash on the M1 motorway, spilling its entire contents and blocking the road for a good 10 hours or so while the authorities cleaned it up. I was driving an ‘H’ registration (1991) Ford Fiesta XR2i, and was wearing a suit as I had been away for the day on business.
I had no Sat Nav (they were not freely available to the public back then), money, warm clothes or a phone that worked well, nor a charger to charge said phone. The only thing in the car was a couple of boxes of cassettes and my briefcase. I had no idea where I was, as I was young and my map reading skills were not as good as they should have been back then. I managed to eventually get off the motorway, and found a pub. I had a couple of 10p coins, and rang home (as you do when you still live at home!), and just enough cash to pay for some food. The pub landlord was not very hospitable, and despite having rooms was not willing (or possibly able) to take an over-the-phone credit card payment from my parents for a room. I eventually had to hit the road again, and managed to find and get back onto the M1. It was still closed further down, but at least the traffic was inching towards a service station where I pulled off and tried to get some sleep in the car – unsuccessfully! The spill was eventually cleared, the fog lifted, and I arrived home in the very early hours of the morning (5 a.m. or thereabouts), cold, tired, hungry and generally annoyed. I swore never to be stuck in that situation again, and so cobbled together a ‘Winter Bag’ that lived in my cars for many years.
Our current vehicle is stuffed full of useful kit for our days out, so we are less likely to come a cropper as I did in the 90’s, however I have made a shortlist of essentials that I suggest you always have to hand. I had a denim duffel bag that I stuffed this all in, and it does not take up as much room as you may thing.
Here is a checklist of what I suggest you all carry in your car, at all times:
- Sat Nav & Charger/power cable
- Road Map book
- Phone & Charger(s)
- Powerbank for phone (keep it fully charged)
- Money – keep a bag of mixed coins, and at least £40 in notes
- Polar Fleece Blankets
- Space Blanket
- Change of clothes (at the very least, some thick, warm, socks)
- Woolly Hat
- Warm (Fleece) Jacket
- Gloves
- Scarf
- Travel Pillow
- Fuel Can (one of the plastic 5 litre ones would do)
- 12 Volt Portable Jump Starter
- 12 Volt Tyre Inflator
- Drinking Water
- Power Bars (or any suitable meal bars)
- First Aid Kit (small one, with things like Lemsip & Nurofen in it) – Plus any medication you rely on to live
- Torch
- Foldable Shovel
- Ice Scraper
- Small Toolkit
- Thermos Flask of hot drink of your choice
If you have anything you feel I have missed off, feel free to let me know!