We recently had the unfortunate incident of getting a flat tire. Christine was driving to pick up Jack from wrestling, it was dark and raining and she just caught the curb in the right spot to pop the tire, she wasn’t even going fast because it was in the school parking lot. She called me and we decided that we’d call a tow truck to take it to our tire shop. One of the other parents saw that Christine was temporarily stranded and offered to change the tire for her, saving us the tow bill. We are very grateful for his help.
His help did make us realize that we could have been better prepared for this emergency. I’m sure like most people, we had never used our spare tire and carjack in the 7 years that we’ve owned her van. I suggest that you know where your spare tire is. On the Honda Odyssey van that we own, it’s under the floorboard in front of the middle row of seats, not in the rear of the van or under the vehicle like we’re used to seeing on other vehicles. Luckily the tire was inflated! So, my first recommendation would be to have a small air compressor in your vehicle. We’ve had these in the past but have not kept them in the vehicle in recent years. Luckily, we didn’t need it in this case.
The next item I would recommend is a small can of WD-40 or Silicon Spray. Since we hadn’t used our jack in 7 years it made it difficult to jack up the car. If we had some lubricant spray, it would have made the job a lot easier for our good Samaritan.
Here are some additional suggestions to keep in your car:
- Umbrella
- Blanket
- Jumper cables
- Flashlight
- Roadside flares or hazard light
- Small toolkit/multi-function tool
- First aid kit
- Work gloves
Let me know in the comments if there is anything extra that you keep in your car that you find helpful in case of an emergency.
I hope you found these tips helpful. If you would like us to help you with your insurance, give us a call 585-663-2004.
