Information provided by the Keep Trucking Safe program. TIRES is a project of the Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. TIRES is supported in part by CDC/NIOSH grant# U60 OH008487. For more information and free training resources visit KeepTruckingSafe.org

Fog, ice, wind, rain, and snow make winter driving hazardous and slow. But with careful preparation you can keep safe and warm in any situation. To avoid the weather’s frosty grip, pack a survival kit for your trip. Pack a kit with items in the following list:

• Warm socks, hat, and gloves. Waterproof gloves cost more, but keep your hands from freezing and going numb.
• Sleeping bag or blankets.
• Non-perishable foods such as dried fruit, nuts, granola.
• Extra medication. Check expiration dates.
• Bottled water.
• Foldable or stowable shovel.
• Flashlights and batteries.
• First aid kit.
• Jumper cables.
• Tool kit: Screwdrivers (both flat-head and Phillips) Pliers. Box knife. Small selection of wrenches. Duct tape.
• Spare bulbs for either the marker lights or headlights.
• Extra fuses.
• Chains.
• Windshield de-icer and scraper.
• Emergency flares.
• Charged cellphone with emergency contact numbers. If you don’t have your emergency contacts memorized, then keep a paper copy as well in case you need to borrow a phone.
• Small section of tarp or other such material to lay on for installing chains.

 Photo by TruckPR on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND