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What every driver should have in their car vs the reality
There are eight essential emergency items every driver should have in their car. But what’s the reality? Among the fast food wrappers, spare change, tissues and CDs, here’s how much road safety gear most drivers actually have.
The Emergency Kit
Most Americans only have 4 out of the 8 recommended essentials in their car.
0
Spare tire / tire inflator & sealant
0
Tire changing tools
0
Jumper cables
0
Flashlight
0
First aid kit
0
Water bottle
0
Tool kit
0
Road flares
The Reality
What items do Americans actually have in their cars?
Browse the full
list below.
| Item | Overall | Male | Female | Age 16‑34 | Age 35‑54 | Age 55+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration and insurance certificate | 84 | 81 | 85 | 80 | 83 | 87 |
| Car manual | 82 | 82 | 82 | 77 | 80 | 88 |
| Pen/pencil | 79 | 81 | 78 | 76 | 77 | 83 |
| Spare tire/tire inflator & sealant | 73 | 74 | 73 | 63 | 74 | 79 |
| Tire changing tools | 68 | 76 | 64 | 56 | 68 | 77 |
| Tissues | 67 | 62 | 70 | 59 | 66 | 74 |
| USB charger | 67 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 71 | 56 |
| Windshield ice scraper | 61 | 59 | 62 | 59 | 61 | 62 |
| Jumper cables | 58 | 61 | 56 | 58 | 57 | 59 |
| Umbrella | 57 | 48 | 63 | 50 | 54 | 66 |
| Tire pressure gauge | 53 | 59 | 49 | 43 | 53 | 59 |
| Flashlight | 51 | 57 | 48 | 44 | 47 | 60 |
| CDs | 47 | 49 | 46 | 47 | 49 | 44 |
| Paper/notebook | 47 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 44 | 51 |
| First aid kit | 45 | 46 | 45 | 42 | 46 | 47 |
| Reusable shopping bags | 45 | 33 | 52 | 36 | 46 | 50 |
| Water bottle | 42 | 35 | 45 | 54 | 41 | 34 |
| Blanket | 40 | 32 | 45 | 43 | 37 | 42 |
| Tool kit | 39 | 46 | 35 | 35 | 39 | 41 |
| Antibacterial gel | 35 | 25 | 41 | 37 | 39 | 30 |
| Cell phone | 35 | 38 | 33 | 39 | 35 | 31 |
| Rags | 26 | 33 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 32 |
| Chewing gum | 25 | 24 | 26 | 33 | 30 | 14 |
| Cash | 24 | 27 | 23 | 32 | 22 | 22 |
| Car child seat | 23 | 14 | 28 | 35 | 28 | 10 |
| Hat | 23 | 28 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 21 |
| Non-scented wipes | 23 | 15 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 20 |
| Paper maps | 23 | 25 | 22 | 13 | 19 | 33 |
| Oil | 20 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| Rain poncho | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 20 |
| Change of clothes | 16 | 16 | 16 | 26 | 16 | 9 |
| Coolant | 15 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 13 |
| Make up/hair brush | 15 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 11 |
| Non-perishable food (e.g. canned food, cereal bars, etc.) | 14 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 |
| Empty chip/snack wrappers | 14 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 15 | 5 |
| Latex/vinyl gloves | 13 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 |
| Flares | 12 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 16 |
| De-icer | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
| Coffee cup(s) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 7 |
| Fast food wrappers | 12 | 10 | 13 | 22 | 13 | 4 |
| Duct tape | 12 | 18 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| GPS | 11 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 |
| Books/deck of cards | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Small shovel | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| WD40 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Reflective triangle | 9 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Scarf | 8 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Cigarettes | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 4 |
| iPod | 7 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 2 |
| Waterproof bag | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Newspaper/magazines | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Tow rope | 6 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Empty gas can | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Fire extinguisher | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Gun | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Camping equipment | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Subwoofer/custom speakers | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Cassette tapes | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Perishable food (e.g. sandwich, dairy products, etc.) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Cat litter for slippery roads | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Small battery powered fan | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Condoms | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Hi-viz bib | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
