Ready for the Road?
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 |