I’ve been late for dinner before, but there are people in Buffalo who left work on Friday afternoon and still hadn’t gotten home by Christmas. The weather this week inspired me to start a list of all the things you should have in your car during the winter just in case — even if you’re not planning on taking a road trip.
I never drive and eat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that you’re over 50 percent more likely to be in an accident if you’re eating while driving. The thing is, when you’re behind the wheel, finding that French fry you dropped is just not worth it.
If you’re going to spend a few hours or days in a snowbank, however, you’re going to want some sustenance. Nothing wrong with having some bottled water and nonperishables stashed in your car. But do yourself a favor and keep the food in a tote with a secure lid, because otherwise you’re just encouraging hungry mice to take up residence in your car. Once they’ve demolished your granola bars they’re going to move on to your air filters, belts, and wiring, which they find almost as delicious.
On the subject of creature comforts, why not just pack up a kit bag with a couple of wool blankets and a pair of gloves, an ice scraper, and a flashlight while you’re at it?
Maybe you ran right out and got a rechargeable mini jump box after I wrote about them last year. And then you read the instructions and went out for a practice run to make sure you know how to jump start your car and charge your phone with it, right? If not, there are two New Year’s resolutions in one for you.
And if you didn’t get them for Christmas, I can think of two other things you really ought to lay in for the winter. One is new wiper blades. You want your wipers making good contact with the window in any kind of bad weather. The other is a snow broom. It’s not a scraper — it has a foam head that won’t mess up your paint job and a sturdy long handle that makes it easy to get to the snow piled on top of the car.
In New Hampshire, driving around with that giant half-melted hunk of ice and snow on top of your car is considered a moving violation. They got serious about clearing off cars in the Granite State after a huge sheet of ice flew off the top of a truck onto the windshield of another and caused an accident that killed a young woman. I know you’re in a rush. But take a breath and spend a little time cleaning off your car properly.
There are also things you don’t need. Extra gas is one. There are a few problems with driving around with a bunch of extra gas in containers in your car. It’s not particularly safe, for one thing. But the main issue is that gas does not have a long shelf life, especially since they started topping it up with higher percentages of ethanol. Sitting around, gas gets moisture in it, which will soon have your car alternately sputtering and dragging its feet like an adolescent. Besides, it can damage your injectors and rust your fuel system. My point is, keep your tank full and fill it before you head out of town.
You probably don’t need snow tires either, unless you’re headed up to Buffalo or somewhere like it. Although you should make sure your treads are decent and check your tire pressure on the regular. Yes, have somebody look at it even if your tire pressure light come on all the time. One of these times, it’s going to mean business.
