10 Things You Should Have In Your Car For Ultimate Survival

1. A big LED torch

This one’s obvious, but we’re just getting warmed up. A torch is essential especially if your ride is, shall we say, temperamental and you need to get out to top up the coolant in the dead of night.

Torches also act as good warning signals, and if they’re heavy enough, might prove useful if you need to smash your way through a side window - there is a better way - or fight off a bear if you’re attacked in the wild.

2. 'Bribe' money

Every driver must keep some cash handy for a number of eventualities. Buying fresh underwear, petrol and food are good examples, as is ‘coffee money’ for a police officer who mercifully lets you off a speeding ticket.

3. Spare fuel

Again, an obvious necessity, but one that few drivers actually remember. Having spare fuel onboard means more than just extending the mileage of your tank. Fuel can be used to burn stuff to keep warm and to cook anything you might have clobbered with your torch when the going gets tough.

While petrol does have antiseptic properties, never use it to clean a wound; it’ll hurt like hell, is toxic and won’t evaporate quickly. #knowledgeispower.

4. Duct tape

Duct tape’s versatility makes it the best-loved tool of any self-respecting petrolhead. Duct tape has multiple uses, including car wraps and repairs and can be used to stem bleeding (a bit grim, but it’s been done), cure warts and build life rafts.

Note: if you can’t fix it with duct tape, then you’re not using enough duct tape.

5. Multi-tool

Forget carrying heavy tools (weight reduction, bro), a multi-tool like this is essential. It can be used to unscrew a distributor cap, can cut through a seatbelt, will chop up your roadkill and could save your life.

6. Tow rope

If you’re stuck in a ditch - or if you come across someone who is - then a tow rope might be your only way out of a sticky situaltion. Just make sure you know where to attach it…

7. Road map

When your iPhone battery has died (after three hours of usage) and if your ride doesn’t come with a sat-nav system as standard (that’s most of us), then you might be in trouble if you get lost without signal. That’s where the paperback road atlas comes in; it won’t run out of juice and it can double up as kindling.

8. Matches or a lighter

So you’re hungry, have your dinner chopped up (courtesy of your trusty multi-tool) and now you need to set light to your road atlas to get the fire roaring. For this, you need a naked flame, and the easiest and cheapest way to achieve this is by grabbing a box of matches or a lighter from your glove compartment.

Failing that (and providing you own a Lambo or something similar), simply bounce your car’s engine off its limiter and cash in on the exhaust flames.

9. A blanket

Keeping warm is essential. If you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and the Mercury drops to dangerously low levels, you could suffer from hypothermia. Symptoms include shivering, poor judgement, slurred speech and numb hands, which will make life very difficult.

Do yourself a favour, have at least one blanket in the back of your car. If you don’t need it an emergency, it will be useful for a lot of other things.

10. Bear Grylls

If you can afford one of these, then a Bear Grylls will be the only essential item you need to carry. With a Bear Grylls weighing in at roughly 85kg your car’s power-to-weight will suffer, but at least you know you’ll be able to survive just about anything. Using a sheep as a blanket, drinking his own urine and giving himself an enema with polluted water (this keeps the body hydrated) are a few things he’s done in his time.