Emergency Preparedness If Your Stuck in Your Car
How to Survive Stranded in Your Car
If you do any traveling in your car in areas that you could get stranded for an extended period of time. You should have a wilderness survival kit in your car for each person. If you get stranded for 2 or three day, a descent car survival kit could make the difference whether you survive or not.
Many people every year are trapped in a car in a snowstorm. If you ever get trapped, do you know what to do? Do you have a disaster survival kit in your car to survive? This article will give you minimum supplies needed for an emergency survival kit for 2 people. If you normally have more than 2 people, plan an emergency survival kit for each passengers. If your normally alone, still plan for 2. It never hurts to have extra, and you could come across someone else stuck who needs your help.
How to survive
If you get stranded in your car in a remote area, the key to survival is having some tools that you can use to survive, and having the knowledge to know what you need to do to survive. Depending on how cold it is outside, you should run your car a little as possible to save fuel, especially during daylight hours.
It is surprising how warm it will stay in your car when the sun is shining, even if it's very cold outside. If a snowstorm has stranded you it is likely that it will be sunny when the storm has passed. It will also likely be colder. Clear sky's are associated with high pressure systems that normally move in after a storm. What comes with high pressure in the winter is also colder temps.
One thing not on the list that you should always have with you if there is any chance of getting stranded is a survival book that can walk you through how to gather or create shelter, water, food, etc, that you will need to survive. You should read through it every year just to familiarize yourself with techniques, then go out and try some of the things that you may need to survive. Learn to start a fire by doing it. If you have a car you have shelter, if you can build a fire, you're odds of surviving go up dramatically.
Water is one of the most important things you must have to survive, melting snow with a fire gives you a huge supply of water in the winter. Practice the techniques that are in your book so if you need them, you will have an idea at least of what you need to do.
The 3's of survival
Remember the 3's of survival. You can live for about 3 minutes without air. If it's very cold, you can only live for a few hours without shelter. You can live for about 3 days without water, and you can live for about 3 weeks without food.
Focus on getting the most important thing you need taken care of first, and you will have a good chance of getting out of the situation alive.
3 Day Survival Kit for Your Car
Get a 4 or 5 gal camping water container. Fill it except for a couple of inches at the top to allow expansion if it freezes. Change it about every 6 months to keep it fresh.
Get some of the 3600 calorie food bars from survival stores or online. They have a shelf life of 5 years. You need a minimum of 2 bars for 2 people. 3 would be better for 2 people. That would give you 1800 calories per day per person.
A bag of hard candy to suck on. Not sugar free.
6 12 hour chemical warmers to help keep you warm.
First aid kit. You can make your own, or buy one from many places.
Shovel, for moving snow.
2 emergency space blankets, and 2 emergency sleeping bags.
2 disposable lighters.
Stuck in the snow
1 multipurpose knife.
3 12 hour light sticks
1 flashlight with batteries.
1 roll of T.P
Car charger for your cell phone.
Put all items in a backpack and keep in your trunk.
Always try to keep your fuel tank as full as you can when you are driving into areas that may be a problem. If you are stuck in the snow, you should run your car for about 10 minutes every hour to keep you warm. Make sure you clear snow away from your exhaust pipe.
If you want, you can buy kits already put together. They are in the $60 range for good kits. You can put your own together for less. But don't forget to do it. If you make it or buy it, get to know it and make sure you know how to use everything in the kit.
It's not hard to prepare or very expensive to make sure you have the best chance to survive if you get stranded. Of all the people that get into emergency situations, none of them ever thought that this would happen to them, be prepared and live.
