Top Tips For New Drivers: 4 Must-Have Items To Prevent Accidents, Blowouts & Getting Stuck Waiting For A Tow
Can you tell me a joke, right now, about a flat tyre?
No pressure…
That’s a pretty funny joke, right up until it happens to you, and then you’re stuck waiting by the side of the road for a costly tow back to the garage.
In today’s market, that could cost a lot more than I would want to pay, especially when the cost to repair the problem yourself is practically nothing.
While we can’t be prepared for every single possible eventuality, there are a handful of situations that are super common, super frustrating, and also super easy to fix if you’ve got the right supplies on hand.
You don’t need to be a mechanic, a welder, or even a car enthusiast to manage these simple repairs, but you do need to be prepared.
If you read the headline, then you know that this list is written for new drivers, but experienced drivers should also carry these items in their car at all times… I just assumed they already do.
After all, you only need to suffer the costs of one easily fixable flat that happens on the highway, to realize that it’s worth having a way to fix it yourself.
Your mileage may vary based on where, when, and what you drive, but here are the 4 items I always keep handy in my car, and how they can help.
1. First Aid Kit
Having a first aid kit in your car is obvious, cliche, and absolutely essential.
Not only should you have a first aid kit, but I recommend taking it out at least once a year to examine everything inside. Make sure it’s stocked up with clean, non-expired supplies, and in a place where it’s easy to access.
Hopefully, if all goes well, you’ll never ever need it… but if you do need it, it will be well worth the effort and expense of making sure it’s ready to go.
Personally, I also throw a few bonus items in my first aid kit, including some emergency candles, water bottles, and granola bars that I swap out every few months for fresh ones.
I’ve never needed my emergency food stores yet, but in the event of an emergency I would really rather be prepared than hungry.
2. Tyre Inflator
Perhaps the most embarrassing reason of all to be stuck on the side of the highway and in need of a tow is because your tyre went low or flat.
It’s not embarrassing that it happened, it happens to all of us — what’s embarrassing is not being prepared to fix one of the most common automotive problems on the planet.
All it takes is some air, and while that used to be freely available at every petrol station on the planet, now it’s expensive and harder to find.
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That’s why most folks now carry a portable air pump of some kind in their emergency kits. They’re small, affordable, easy-to-use, and some are even automatic so you can’t accidentally overfill a tyre.
They won’t automatically attach to your tyre of course, we still need to do that part, but they will detect when it’s got the perfect amount of air, and then shut itself off.
You may want to bring a tyre pressure gauge as well, but if you’ve got an automatic shutoff on your inflator, that’s less necessary and more of a bonus-check.
3. The Three F’s: Flashlight, Fuses & Fire Extinguisher
Technically there are four “F” items to stock in our cars in case of emergencies, but a first aid kit is so important that it deserves its own category.
The other three, flashlight, fuses, and fire extinguisher, are all super important to have as well, especially if you drive a lot, drive an older vehicle, or drive frequently at night.
Now I know, we all have flashlights on our phones, but that’s not good enough.
In an emergency it’s safe to assume that you might have to talk on your phone to get directions, while trying to repair the car, so you need a separate flashlight.
Fuses, of course, can help you solve some of the most common electrical problems in just seconds — as long as you know where your fusebox is and you have the supplies handy.
A fire extinguisher… Well, you know what this is for. I always carry one, and I always hope that I’ll never have to use it. So far so good.
4. The Winter Kit
This final item is one I stock in my car every winter, then remove every summer.
It sounds like a pain, but it’s well worth it, because it’s never a good idea to go driving in the winter without access to emergency items.
You can personalise your own kit based on your local climate and needs, but I recommend including a blanket, hand warmers, a small shovel, a snow brush, emergency candles, and one very important item that far too many people forget…
Lock de-icer.
Trust me, it’s really embarrassing when you have to climb in the rear passenger side door and hop over the seats, because all the other locks are frozen shut.
Funny probably, for those watching, but I think I prefer the normal way better.
Driving is dangerous, there’s no way around that, and it’s something I think we should all be aware of, all the time. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t do it though, we should just be prepared.
If you’re going to be driving a few thousand pounds of steel, glass, and rubber around the roads, you should be prepared to handle the small repairs that keep you driving safely.
A low tyre doesn’t seem like a big deal, right up until it blows.
Be safe, be prepared, and you’ll always make it back home after a drive.
You might be a few minutes late if you had to stop and fill a tyre, but at least you won’t be getting towed home.
