Even though McHenry isn't having this kind of weather lately, it's still a good idea to have an emergency kit in the car.

You have a spare tire in your car. WAIT! You do have a spare tire in your car, right? And it has air? Whew.

Allow me to start over. Your car should have a spare tire in the trunk that holds air so, if you have a flat tire away from your McHenry home, you can replace the tire and keep going. But there are more things to carry with you as you drive in case of an emergency. In other words, beyond that spare tire, you should have an emergency kit in the car.

What should your emergency kit include? 

• Thinking about that spare tire, your car should have a jack so you can jack up the car and replace the tire (should also have a block you can put under a tire to keep the car from rolling while it’s up on the jack).
• A Flashlight, quite obviously, so you can look for things, take a look at what is wrong with your car and signal other drivers.
• Road flares or reflective triangles. On a two-way street, place one about 10-feet in front of your vehicle facing on-coming traffic, one 10-feet behind your vehicle and another 100-feet back in the center of the lane occupied by your vehicle.
• Sand, shovel, roadsalt and a tow strap to help you get unstuck in the winter.
• Portable jump starter or jumper cables in case your car won’t start.
• Fire extinguisher that, hopefully, you’ll never need.
• First aid kit that, once again, hopefully, you’ll never need.
• Your cell phone and charger (possibly a portable charger bank).
• Drinking water and protein snacks.
• A warm blanket/warm clothes, hat and gloves.
• Duct tape (will come in handy in almost any situation, they say) and tiedown straps.
• Engine coolant, windshield washer solvent, engine oil (the same grade as that used in the engine).

Of course, we all hope we won’t need any of these emergency items, no matter how far we roam from our McHenry homes. But better to have something when you need it than to find yourself stuck on the road needing what you don’t have.

One way to avoid the need of an emergency kit in your vehicle is to conduct proper maintenance of your car. Bring your car in for regular maintenance and have a trusted auto repair technician look it over to find any potential problems that could land you broke down on the side of the road somewhere.