Do you even have a car safety emergency kit? I didn’t until I moved to California. That’s because I never had a car in New York City. Above is a video of what’s in my car safety kit, and what should be in yours too.

Since the wintertime can be a hairy time for drivers in cold-weather states, here are a few tips on car safety that I can pass on to you:

1. Always check around your car before you get in. Check underneath the car to look for weird oil spills and also look around your car for potential attackers, jackers or thieves.

2. Lock your doors as soon as you get in. Most new cars have this feature automatically, but older cars have manual locks. If someone was following you to your car or if someone was trying to carjack you, that one tip could help save your life.

3. Never get into a potential attacker’s car.

We’ve hopefully all heard this before. If you are ever attacked or threatened, your chances of survival greatly decrease if you get into their car. Run, fight back or do whatever you have to do to get away. Hopefully, you’ll have your pepper spray or personal alarm handy too!

4. Take a mental note of your taxi driver’s name.

Not driving yourself but getting in a cab? In case anything crazy happens, you will have the advantage of identifying the cab you are in if you have the driver’s name. True story: I once left my cell phone in a cab. Once I got to work and realized it was gone, I went into a meditative state and saw the taxi driver’s id card and his name came to me. I was able to call the taxi company, locate the driver and he returned my phone to me. Memory has it’s privileges J

5. Be prepared with a car safety kit.

Again, this is something I had to learn recently. In my car I always have the following items on hand:

–       Nutrition bars
–       Water
–       Cell phone charger
–       Sabre pepper spray
–       First aid kit
–       Jumper cables
–       Flashlight
–       Road flares
–       sand or cat litter

If I lived in a colder weather climate, which got snow, like upstate NY where I grew up, I would also be sure to have:
–       windshield scraper
–       blankets
–       anti-freeze liquid

I’m a Volkswagen fan because I have 24 hour roadside assistance built in to my lease payments. If your car doesn’t come with that feature, being a member of AAA is a great investment as well.

So, what’s in your car safety kit?