What should I keep in a car in winter?

A winter car kit is not about breakdowns as such. It is about the difference between an inconvenient two-hour wait and a genuinely dangerous one, and almost all of it costs very little and lives in the boot from November.

Safety

Step by step

1. Start with warmth.A blanket, a spare warm layer, hat and gloves, and thick socks. A car cools fast with the engine off, and the engine cannot safely be left running indefinitely. This is the part people skip and the part that matters most.
2. Carry a torch and a high-visibility jacket.A wind-up or fresh-battery torch, and a jacket to put on before getting out on a dark road. Standing at the roadside in dark clothing on a winter evening is the most dangerous part of a breakdown.
3. Keep a charged power bank.A phone is how you get help, and cold flattens batteries fast. A power bank kept charged is more useful than almost anything else in the boot.
4. Take water and food that keeps.A bottle of water and something like cereal bars or nuts. Enough for a few hours for everyone in the car. Rotate it occasionally so it is still edible.
5. Carry a scraper and de-icer — and keep them indoors.A can of de-icer locked inside a frozen car is useless. Keep the scraper and a small can by the front door and take them out with you.
6. Add a folding shovel and something for traction.A small shovel for clearing snow from around the wheels and the exhaust, and an old mat, sacking or cat litter for grip under a spinning wheel.
7. Carry jump leads or a jump pack.Cold is when batteries fail. A lithium jump pack works without another car, which matters on an empty road, and it doubles as a power bank.
8. Check the screenwash is winter strength.Summer-strength washer fluid freezes in the reservoir and in the jets exactly when road spray is worst. Concentrate mixed for winter is a small job with a large effect on visibility.
9. Check tyres before the season, not during it.Tread depth and pressure. Grip falls away sharply as tread wears, and cold weather drops pressures. This is the single biggest safety factor and it is not in the boot.
10. Carry a first aid kit and a warning triangle.Both inexpensive. Note that a warning triangle should not be used on a motorway — a live lane is not a place to walk back along.
11. Keep the fuel or charge higher than usual.Half a tank as a minimum in winter. In a long delay the engine is what keeps you warm, and an electric car's range falls noticeably in cold weather.
12. Tell someone your route on a bad day.Where you are going and when you expect to arrive. It costs a message and it is what starts anyone looking for you.
13. Clear the exhaust before running the engine.If you are stopped in snow, get out and check the exhaust is clear before running the engine for warmth. Blocked exhaust plus a running engine puts carbon monoxide into the cabin.

Tips

• Put the kit together once in October and leave it in the boot. A kit assembled when it is needed is not a kit.
• A cheap foil emergency blanket weighs nothing and takes no space. Add one per seat.
• Check the power bank is actually charged every few weeks. A flat one in the boot is the most common failure in this list.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the de-icer and scraper in the car — They are locked inside a frozen car exactly when you need them. Keep both by the front door.
• Running the engine for warmth without checking the exhaust — Snow blocking the exhaust sends carbon monoxide into the cabin. Clear it before running the engine, and open a window slightly.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask