5 Safety Products EVERYONE Should Have In Their Car

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This is of course just based on my opinion and experiences in all the driving that we have done (21,754 miles in just cross country road trips to be exact-I got curious and did the math when writing this article UPDATE Dec 2024-Approxiamtely 36,346+ miles cross country plus lots of "local" trips, we consider within 3-5 hours local. While there are some people that should probably carry additional items in their car (such as parents, pet owners, frequent beach goers, etc) this list is full of items that I think EVERYONE should carry around in the car. Whether you're driving 5 miles to work or 30 miles to visit Grandma, these are items that you don't want to wait until it's too late to have, plus what I would also add if you were planning on doing a cross-country trip.

1. Fire Extinguisher

My first instinct was to say that if you only buy one thing from this list, I would argue that this is THE most important thing to buy. But then I realized that's probably not true, item number 4 is probably the most important in terms of personal safety and I was letting my personal feelings cloud my judgment but I personally think it's still VERY important to have.

Back in 2019 during one of our cross country road trips, there was a freak accident in front of me where a stalled car was hit and ended up having its gas tank exploding-the car was instantly engulfed in flames. My husband had flown ahead and I was driving to meet him so I didn't have his help with the situation. I of course stopped to try and help, along with a lot of other people, but no one had a fire extinguisher or anything else useful to the situation. It was already an incredibly hot day (Kentucky in July) but that was nothing compared to the heat coming off the car. I couldn't even get close enough to open a door or anything because the heat was so strong. Stepping away from the car actually made the outside air feel cool even though it was over 90° plus humidity. The man unfortunately passed away, I've been told he probably died on impact from the initial explosion but I don't want to ever feel powerless to help someone in any kind of similar situation again. It was after this incident that I started looking into a car fire extinguisher and realized that it's rarely talked about. Before this, I had never heard of carrying one in your car and anyone I've talked to about it since hasn't heard of it either. So I like to spread awareness about carrying them. Hopefully you never find yourself in the situation to need one, but if you do then you are prepared.

2. Roadside Emergency Kit

There are all kinds of roadside kits on the market but I've never found one that completely satisfies me or has everything I want. The top one is one of the better ones I've found for what I feel a basic roadside kit should have. Although if I were a longer distance I wouldn't rely on this kit alone, I would also buy the bottom kit, but for your everyday driving around town/ local areas the top one would be okay. I really like the multi-purpose shovel, I also have a multiple-purpose mini hatchet in my car as well.

There are more things that these kits don't have that I like to have such as flares, additional emergency blankets depending on the number of people in your family, zip ties, bungee cords and just general nature survival items. Below I show you ANOTHER kit that has first aid and survival items that I like having for

cross-country trips!

3. First Aid Kit

I've found that most roadside emergency kits leave something to be desired in terms of medical supplies. So I like to carry around an actual first aid kit as well.

I've listed two different kinds here- the first one is just a small kit for your basic bumps and bruises (If you're looking for something more sports focus like this softball mom check THIS one out instead)! The second one is a more comprehensive kit that could help treat more serious injuries in case

you're stranded somewhere far away from a hospital and need some immediate care.

I carry all of these kits in my car at all times but when I'm going on a cross-country road trip I like to have something even MORE comprehensive. When long hauling we frequently take routes where we are are in the middle of NOWHERE and we sometimes don't have cell phone service.

If my car were to break down or we run out of gas (Don't be like Rhyan, always fill up before entering a National Forest!), then I want to know I have the supplies to last for at least a day or two until someone else comes along or we we manage to get ahold of someone. With that in mind, I highly recommend THIS survival kit that has a small amount of medical supplies

plus more survival tools to include an emergency tent!

4. Emergency Escape Tool

I thankfully have never needed to use one of these but I am always sure to carry one around just in case. In certain situations this tool could be the difference between life and death. I know there's no way I would be able to kick open my window on my own to help save me or my kids.

There are a lot of different kinds of escape tools on the market, some of them even have a flashlight built-in. But I don't want to have to move the tool from its spot unless I'm actually using it to escape. So I would rather just have a separate flashlight, this one comes with a set of 4!

5. A Quality Flashlight

Okay I know this one may seem obvious but I felt it was important to put in here. I can't tell you how many times I've used the flashlights in my car. From changing a tire in the dark or getting to a campsite late and needing light to set up my tent, having GOOD flashlights is such a lifesaver. I really like both of these flashlights and use them together.

The top flashlight is bigger and has more features- I love that it has an adjustable focus, side light, and different light settings. Plus it's magnetic so it's great to "stick" somewhere that's magnetic and put a broad light across your workspace. It's

also very cool because it can use batteries OR you can recharge it with the included charger through a USB port. This is great if your batteries die while you're on the road and there's nowhere convenient to buy batteries before you need to use it again. It can also be used in reverse as an emergency charger for your phone!

I typically stick the bigger flashlight up somewhere using the magnet for a broad light and then use the smaller Gearlight flashlight (which also has an adjustable focus) for a handheld focused light to shine right on where I'm working. I will admit that I haven't taken the top one on a road trip yet but I've taken similar

flashlights and I currently use both of these at home frequently.

So how do I store all of the different car essentials?

I know everyone obviously has different cars, which means that different people will end up storing their emergency items in different places, but I do have recommendations on the best places to keep certain items. I have a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, which I absolutely love. The photo below is not my exact car but it's the same model. My car has what is called "stow and go", which is a storage system in my car. Both my second and third row of seats can fold down into compartments in the floor so I can have the whole back of the car flat to haul things if needed. But when the seats are up (which is almost always) those compartments are empty. So I use them to store a lot of my emergency equipment.

I like to keep my fire extinguisher under the driver's seat and the small first aid kit under the front passenger seat, that way they are both easily accessible from the middle of the car. I keep the roadside emergency kit and the more comprehensive first aid kit (along with a bunch of other emergency items) in one of the stow-and-go compartments. Then I have the emergency escape tool on my sun visor, the small flashlight in my glove box, and the bigger flashlight under my passenger seat in the front. This is all just what works for me and is prioritized by how accessible I think an item should be. Depending on your car, the way you store things might look different for you. This is also in no way a complete list of all the things that I like to carry around (thank god for my top hard shell!), just the first 5 items that come to mind when I think of what everyone should have. Let me know in the comments about other things you keep in your car!