Are you prepared with a Car Safety Kit?
Do you know what to include in a car safety kit?
Courtesy of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. I am pleased to introduce you to Ted Mansell, Service Technician and longstanding Hyundai team member. Ted has been working on Hyundai vehicles for 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge on automotive safety to share.
I’m sure many of you take road trips in your vehicle during the warm summer months. There is nothing worse than getting stuck on the side of the road and not being prepared! This summer, we will be preparing our new vehicle for some family road trips and to help us be prepared, we will be following the recommendations below.
1) Say hello to sunshine:
Now that winter is over, it’s time to transition your vehicle into summer mode. To do this safely, be sure to:
- Change from winter to summer tires. Winter tires lose their grip and longevity as the temperature rises.
- Change your wiper blades if they are streaking and damaged from freezing in the winter.
- Brush-up on your owner’s manual! A “check engine” light can come on for hundreds of reasons, so it’s important to know what to do if it lights up.
- Check your fluid levels. Today’s engine compartment design makes it easy to check the minimum and maximum levels for most of your fluids.
- When washing, remember to spray underneath your vehicle to clean the corrosive salt from all the nooks and crannies.
2) Take time for your tires:
Did you know that half of all breakdowns happen due to low tire pressure? The easiest thing to do is a circle check around your vehicle every time you go to drive your car. The front tires will naturally look softer than the rears, as they carry the most weight.
Here are some helpful hints:
- Check your tire pressure once a month. Use the ideal tire pressure found on a label on the driver’s door jam and not the number on the tire itself. The one on the tire is its maximum rating, which could cause a harsh ride and uneven tire wear.
- Avoid overfilling your tires. Use a quality air pressure gauge to be certain.
- Under and over inflated tires increase fuel consumption, so keep them properly inflated for your wallet and your safety!
- You may need to use a custom wrench to release it from its mounting. Each vehicle is different so be sure to find out what type you need and how to use it.
- Spare tires lose air over time, so ensure your spare is properly inflated before embarking on any road trip. The ideal pressure is also on the driver’s door jam.
- Do a circle check before every trip and look at the tires. Apply tips above if needed.
- Make sure your lights are working. Be sure to check your headlights and tail lights.
- Get a full service vehicle check-up once a season.
- Ensure you know where your spare tire is and know how to change the tire yourself.
- Air pressure gauge
- Booster cables
- Gloves for changing tires
- Safety cones
- Portable air compressor
- Blankets
- Tire wrench
3) Do you know where your spare tire is?
Surprisingly, many Canadians do not! Know where it is and how to access it.
Other important safety tips include:
4) Adopt your very own vehicle safety checklist:
Quality time on the road means mastering your vehicle safety checklist.
Here is what should be on yours:
5) Pack smart for your road trip:
In your vehicle you should always have:
IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!
Prize: An Ultimate road safety kit for your car (approximate $50 value) including:
Foam and FLC Lined Gloves
Tire Fix Heavy Duty Pressure Gauge
Marker Cones, 12-in, 4-pk
Rain-X Summer Washer Fluid
Prestone Long Life Antifreeze/Coolant
Open to: Canadian Residents
Giveaway Ends: July 7, 2014 11:59pm EST
i think the marker cones are really important. It could be really dangerous to be parked on the side of the road, especially in bad weather, without some way to alert other drivers that you’re there.
booster cables and your cell phone I agree with Jonnieh in regards to the cones, I think I should get some.
A spare tire and a jack.
A jack and booster cables.
spare tire, jack, booster cables and marker cones
Booster Cables have proven to be what I’ve used most over the years.
I think booster cables are the most important.
My cell phone
a spare tire and wrench
A window smasher
spare tire, window smasher, thermal blanket
spare tire, jack, booster cables!
First aid kit, booster cables, spare tire, jack, blanket, window smasher…
First aid kit.
First Aid kit, water, and a jack.
as far of car safety? properly installed car and booster seats for the kids.
A spare tire and jack.
A spare tire and my phone.
Cell phone.
Booster cables , spare tire and jack
A cell phone to call for a tow or whatever you need.
Denise S
I feel you should have a first aid kit, booster cables, flashlight, and a flare gun or a bright flashing light
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First aid Kit, booster cables, flashlight, traffic cones
Booster cables, Spare tire, first aid kit and blanket.
a cell phone and spare tire
a cellphone
I think it’s important to have booster cables.
a CAA membership
I think that it’s important to have a Portable air compressor.
******SPARE TIRE*******
Safety is impotant
I think it is very important to have booster cables in your car.
Having access to a cell phone (or satellite phone for very remote areas) is import in case you need to call for help.
First aid kit, cellphone and booster cables
Booster cables and fire extinguisher for sure
first aid kit!
booster cables & warm clothing
First Aid Kit and charged Cell Phone!
Booster Cables. Every time lol.
Booster cable. SOS.
Help. Pick me, pick me! Your next winner!!! Show me the money!!! It
would be a dream come true & means more to me than anyone else to
win. 🙁 Starving artist here desperately needs the safety kit to travel, to
have fun, feel alive & inspired again. A life changing
experience. Top of my bucket list. Thanks for the awesomeness, the contest,
& generosity. Dear Santa: I’ve
been nice. My X-Mas wish this year is to win this contest!
booster cables, first aid kit, blankets, batteries, and flashlights
I think the most important is already having a pre-packed safety and survival kit in the vehicle at all times…….. you never know.
I’d say spare tire and first aid kit.
a CAA membership
Booster cables & first aide kit
First Aid Kit and a phone
first aid kit
cell phone and spare tire
i would say booster cables,a little tool kit and a cell phone
Tire changing kit with a spare tire
Rain-X Summer Washer Fluid. we go through so MUCH extra wash during the summer!
First aid kit
cell phone and first aid kit
In the winter I have a special tub. But in the summer I have a kit with water, tire kit, first aid kit and flares (I travel in the country a lot). I likely would just call CAA if anything happened to my car though.
I agree about having CAA all the way!!!
It’s hard to choose just one: a cell phone, a tire wrench and booster cables.
For sure its important for boast cables
First Aid Kit.
Florence C
a cell phone, to be used in emergencies
first aid kit
I think a knife or a pair of scissors is most important. something to cut through seat belts or break windows.
I like to have a blanket in the car. I know that it sounds rather simple but I have a fear of the car breaking down in cold weather.
first aid kit
so many things. if only one, then a cell phone. thanks
First aid kit
A Cell phone would be the most important thing and a first aid kit as well.
A first aid kit!
Spare tire and first aid kit 🙂
A first aid kit.
cell phone good to have to call for help
Both kinds of anti freeze is the most helpful from the package, personal item is a cell phone
Cell phone and a send help sign
booster cables
First aid kit
cell phone and a flashlight
my BCAA card, jumper cables and food and blanket for baby incase we are somewhere it’s going to take a while to find us.
Some warm clothes and a blanket are really important in the winter!
Appropriate carseats for the kids, and a cell phone for sure!
A good spare tire, a jack and jumper cables
From this set I would say the Marker Cones are the most important, and in general I think blankets, a flashlight, first aid kit, cell phone and water are most important.
A blanket, candle in a tin container, first aid kit, a flash light and water.
I have a combo seat belt cutter and glass break.
My smartphone
a flashlight
Water and a blanket.
First Aid kit
cell phone
water and blanket 🙂
cell phone is a must for calling for help.
I think everything in this kit is important, but I specifically think the Marker Cones are most important. Not only does it tell other drivers you need help, it marks yourself for a tow truck if you’ve called, but it is really sad to hear about cars or people being hit while stuck at the side of the road.
A blanket in the winter!
A first aid kit!
A blanket
Jumper cables, cell phone, water.
Definitely a first aid kit, blanket, water, jumper cables
I always have extra windshield fluid in the winter and a cell phone for emergencies
battery boosters are what I think is great for emergencies. However, I have been thinking a few blankets & some way to keep warm would be good.
Cell phone.
First Aid Kit
My CAA card & my cell phone.