An obvious draw to living in Colorado is our spectacular mountains. Unfortunately, if you’re not prepared, these majestic beauties can turn your winter excursion into a nightmare.
That being said, when was the last time you evaluated the emergency gear in your vehicle? While many of us keep some of the essentials in our vehicle year-round (things like tools to temporarily fix a flat tire), there are different items you should consider for winter driving.
Keep scrolling for a list of items to start (or add to) your emergency kit for winter!
We’ll start with the basics for the first two items…
1. Water
This may seem obvious, but storing water in your car may take a bit of strategy. For example, the container you choose should be able to withstand extreme temperatures. You also want to avoid the toxic chemicals that can leach into the water with prolonged storage. If you’re not sure where to begin, this article is an excellent resource exploring the pros and cons of various storage methods.
2. Food
You never know how long you may be stranded in the event of an emergency, so storing a little something in your car to keep your energy and blood sugar at a consistent level is a must. For many of us, however, having a granola bar or other snack food floating around is a surefire way to ensure that the snack will not remain there for very long. As such, some people recommend dry puppy food (yes, you read that correctly) as an excellent emergency ration, for several reasons:
- It’s packed with calories, which will help keep your energy up.
- It’s pretty unlikely that you will attempt to snack on it in any other scenario than an emergency (unless perhaps you’re stranded in traffic and extremely curious).
- It keeps well for extended periods of time.
- If you end up stranded with a pet, this won’t make them sick (whereas a granola bar will likely have something they can’t have, like chocolate).
3. Extra Hats, Gloves, and Blankets
You should never underestimate how drastically the temperatures can plummet in the mountains, especially if your vehicle breaks down and you can no longer rely on it as a source of heat. Sticking some extra winter gear and blankets in your trunk just may save multiple lives in the event of an emergency.
4. Hand Warmers
In the same vein as the items above, air-activated charcoal hand warmers are an excellent way to warm up quickly – plus they don’t take up a lot of space! Of course, these warmers should always be used under careful supervision to avoid burns, as they can get very hot.
5. Road Flares/Something Colorful
With winter weather in full force in Colorado, visibility can be sketchy! Keeping road flares or something colorful (think a scarf, bandana, or even a bright plastic bag) in your trunk to tie to your vehicle will help alert other drivers to your presence, ideally even in a snow storm. This is especially useful if you have broken down in a ditch or on the curve of a winding mountain path.
So, there you have it! With a little creativity and planning, you can be prepared for every season of driving in Colorado.
From all of us at Quick-Set Auto Glass, drive safely out there!
