Wow, is it ever cold lately!! We logged a couple of days here at -36 Celsius, which is beyond cold, deathly cold with a lot less exposure. We also logged 55 cm of snow in a single day. That’s around 21.5 inches for our American friends. It’s time to address survival when stranded in a car during winter.
That very snowstorm I mentioned above found people stuck on the 401 for 6 hours. The fallout of a recent storm in the US had people stranded on the I-95 for 9 hours. And, we have all heard the stories of 50-car pileups or people getting stuck on the highway for days.
So it begs the question: What to keep in your car for winter emergencies? and how exactly do I survive or stay comfortable if I was stranded in a car during winter?
I’ll keep my views out of this, but if you believe in climate change then you will think things will only get worse. If you don’t believe in it, I can tell you with certainty these kinds of storms have been around as far back as I can remember, it’s nothing new, nor can you ignore the dangers of it.
So, here’s my other question: Why have you not prepared for this a long time ago? If you live anywhere in the northern US, or just about any part of Canada, the time to start is NOW!
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Step 1 – Fuel
You don’t need me for this, and I promise, it will get far more interesting, but fuel up more often in the winter! If you are like me and drive a lot, this may be more challenging as we are already at the pump every 2-3 days.
I usually tank up when I’m at a quarter tank – so, for example, I can tank up in the winter when I’m between a quarter and a half. My point is to make a little effort to drive around with a little more gas than usual.
Step 2 – Gear
Here comes the fun part. You DON’T NEED a heater or an exhaustive list of items to survive the cold! Your first form of shelter is your clothing and assuming you are dressed right for the day, you have your basics already covered. Now the most important thing you need is a sleeping bag, a really good one rated for the cold.
Sleeping Bag
How to stay warm in a stranded car? First off, a sleeping bag is a must. I keep in my car a US military surplus sleeping system. Here you have 2 sleeping bags: a nylon-filled patrol sleeping bag rated for 30 to 50°F and a nylon-filled intermediate mummy bag rated 10 to 30°F. They can be used separately depending on the weather, and I don’t remember exactly, but combined when one bag is tucked into the other, I believe it was good to -30 Celsius.
This sleeping system also comes with a gore-tex bivy sac in which you can insert the sleeping bags. Now it’s waterproof and you can literally toss it on the snow and sleep right there! While you have a much better environment in your car, you can begin to understand how serious this sleeping bag is. Even in the car, the bivy is still an added layer meaning some added warmth. The whole kit comes with a compression stuff sac that neatly keeps it all together in one place.
You’ll find many a person that has slept in minus 30 in their car by choice with one of these or something of similar quality. It may not be pleasant waking up to such a cold environment, but a good and more importantly warm night’s sleep is very possible. Not my cup of tea and probably not yours either – it just needs to be there for that one day when you are stranded in a car during winter and you don’t have a choice in the matter.
Further Reading: How To Choose The Right Sleeping Bag For Camping
Let’s Go Back to Talking About a Heater
There are several different heaters out there. You need to bear in mind though that heaters use a limited resource, meaning fuel. Unlike a sleeping bag, there is a finite amount of use you will get from these and it is not a replacement for a blanket rather than an added option. The big one out there is the Buddy from Mr. Heater.
One of these can help make things more comfortable under the right circumstances and they are commonly used for ice fishing, hunting and so on.
There are some downsides to using a heater, the big one being the risk of carbon monoxide. You absolutely have to have ventilation when using one of these. If it’s not carbon monoxide, it’s also water you need to deal with.
For each 1 lb of propane burned, it generates 1.6 lbs of water! It’s chemistry, which I won’t get into, other than saying it’s a reaction of burning propane with air that generates carbon dioxide and water. As I’m sure you already know, being cold and wet is deadly.
I’m not suggesting you should run out and buy a heater. Some cars are so tight that having it in there would scare me. It’s an option, especially for bigger vehicles. You should be aware that it can increase comfort for the right person, at the right time, under the right circumstances.
Fire Making Tools and a Candle
Always carry three sources of ignition, that’s the rule of thumb when it comes to fire. As usual, a Bic lighter, matches and a Ferro rod, which is pretty basic stuff. Add some long-burning emergency candles to the mix and you are golden. You would be surprised how much heat you can get off a candle, especially in a confined space. At a bare minimum, you can warm up cold hands and feet.
Further Reading: 7 Fire Kit Survival Essentials That You Should Carry
Add a container for your candle and you have seriously levelled up its usefulness. The UCO Candle Lantern has a flip-up hanger that comes in handy and increases safety. Of course, your survival candle now doubles as a source of light.
Further Reading: How to Make Fire in the Snow
Light Source
I use the Petzl Swift headlamp. You don’t need anything this fancy, you just need a light source that does not rely on draining your car battery. You may also need light to do certain tasks outside your vehicle.
If you ever have to narrow down to a single choice for a light source, I always like to make it a headlamp as it leaves your hands free. The Petzl Swift can run for 100 hours on low. For general lighting, hang it off your rearview mirror, and it now becomes a great lantern.
You also have the choice to crank it up to 900 lumens when you need to see something. 900 lumens makes it brighter than most flashlights! I love Petzl’s dual purpose and choice of light levels.
Signalling Device
Assuming you are not stuck on a congested highway, maybe you’re just broken down on a country road with no cell service, you will want a signalling device.
When stranded in a car, a white flag means distress, but with a lot of snow, people may not see it. An orange flag will catch attention, it’s now up to someone to wonder why you have an orange flag.
Even your 4-way flasher might simply tell people you just pulled over. Be careful when using your 4-ways, especially when the snow is falling and visibility is poor. Many drivers have crashed into cars parked on the shoulder thinking it’s a lane and the driver in front was just going slow.
An old trick is to pop your hood, many people will recognize it as a sign of trouble. The good old orange triangle or flares will tell people you need help. And, if all else fails, even writing a big “help” or “SOS” with your finger on a dirty window or body panel beats standing outside of the vehicle in the elements.
Other Emergency Gear
A first aid kit is a must in any vehicle, I shouldn’t even have to write about it. Some automotive manufacturers add a first aid kit to the car, especially popular amongst German automakers.
A knife or multi-tool, even a small one, is of tremendous value if trapped in a vehicle during a winter storm. And last but not least a charging cable for your phone. It’s not a phone anymore for checking the bank or playing games, it just became what is probably your only communication device.
Further Reading: Morakniv Garberg Carbon: What Makes Bushcraft Knives So Special?
The ham radio is an excellent old-school backup to a phone for anyone interested. This is particularly true in rural areas where cell signals are hit or miss. Unlike the satellite, phones or messengers, there are no monthly fees with ham radio.
I always carry a pack with all my survival gear when heading into the woods. Worthy of mention here is, that I’ll make a point of generally keeping it in my car during winter months. That automatically ticks off a lot of the items mentioned in this post.
Winter Road Conditions
We all have our sources for weather. Here, is a neat tool for Ontario. It’s the 511 Road Conditions website that tells you the road conditions for all the highways. If you are outside Ontario, I would assume there is something similar for your area.
Weather can change fast and the state of a highway’s conditions can change just as quickly. With something like the above source, you can at least get an idea of what you are heading into.
Step 3 – Emergency Food & Water
Food
A human can survive for 1-3 months without food! A lack of food when stranded in a car during winter is no cause for panic. You would, however, find yourself a lot more comfortable if you had something to eat. I highly recommend carrying energy bars, beef jerky, dried fruits and nuts and so on. Without getting into details, these foods are chosen for a reason as they are suitable to energize and sustain someone in this type of situation. Eating also helps warm you up and maintain body temperatures, especially with foods that are slower to digest.
Meals: Yes, it is Easily Done!
The food I listed above is ample. If you are the type that absolutely “has” to eat to be happy, you can carry some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Mountain House products taste really good and Mac and Cheese is perfect for a situation like this.
All you have to do is boil some water, add it to the bag and wait for whatever time frame is in the instructions. Usually about 10 minutes. I have had many MREs in the bush, hunting camps and so on. Most of them do taste great!
Stove and Pot
You will also need a stove & pot to boil water for your MRE. Again, just make sure you have a little ventilation when in use. The water will probably boil within a few minutes. And yes, I know, I said meals are easy. They are, you just need to pack a few more items if you go that route.
Water
Similar but different to food, you can survive for 3 days without water, so again, don’t panic! You don’t need much, even throwing a few water bottles into your car will go a long way when you need it. Remember that water does freeze in the winter if left in the car. Consider pouring out an inch or so to compensate for expansion.
Water is a resource and when stranded in a vehicle, you are considered to be in an emergency situation. Sip on it here and there, and conserve, just in case you are stuck longer than you expect. If you carry a pot and stove, as mentioned above, and if you can find some clean snow, you can boil it for safe consumption.
Medicine
Some people require regular medications to stay alive. This can also mean an urgent need for medicine in a very short time – to the point that if you don’t have it, you now have yet another emergency to deal with.
I’m not going to ask you to carry your medicine cabinet with you, but at least, always have on hand 2-3 days’ worth. This might be better to carry it on your person, the point being to have it with you. Check with your pharmacist for advice as different medicines may have different requirements for temperatures and storage.
Further Reading: Emergency Medical Kit: Surprisingly Life and Death is 9 Items
Step 4 – Bathroom
We are in a pandemic, right? I think many of us have found creative ways to use the washroom when they were pretty much all closed. It’s an awkward topic, but it is what it is, and I have peed in many empty Tim Hortons coffee cups. That trick has repeatedly saved me from disaster.
If at this point you are laughing at me, I need to laugh back at you, because at least I’m not one of the multiple people I saw peeing on the side of a busy parking lot somewhere in the city.
So, what about when you are stuck on the highway with hundreds of spectators? Simple, for that you carry a little bucket. And for a number 2 that absolutely won’t go away, you carry little baggies that fit over your bucket and can be tied off. Don’t forget some toilet paper or wipes.
Wipes double for a million other purposes, especially if you have children. The good news is, while our cars don’t have a sink, we all have hand sanitizer and were not shaking hands anytime soon:)
Step 5 – Learn to Conserve
We are all spoiled in our daily lives. From seat heaters and remote car starters to music from space, which, is all nice and dandy during good times. The problem is, that it makes us more than a little soft during the bad times.
Sadly for most motorists out there, when they are out of gas or stuck, they are dead in the water and relying on someone else to rescue them. Only in winter, will you find yourself working against the clock as the temperature drops.
When it comes to fuel, run your engine for 10 minutes, warm up a bit and then shut it off. You can do that over and over again. Not in the name of the environment because you can’t worry about that right now, but because you are trying to conserve fuel, one of your vital resources.
The same advice applies to food, water, matches, toilet paper and so on. Once you use it up, it’s gone!
In these situations or any survival situation for that matter, you need to put your creature comforts aside and learn to conserve your resources. Guess what? The less prepared you are, the more you are going to need to conserve to stay alive. It’s that simple.
I would also like to add that there are other consequences to using some resources. If you take me up on Step 3 – Food and Water, you WILL NEED Step 4 – Bathroom! So, if you prep your vehicle as per this post, don’t forget that some preps must go hand in hand with others. When stranded in a car during winter, it’s not fun going outside to use the bathroom, therefore that bucket becomes your best friend.
When Help Isn’t Coming
There are times in life when help just isn’t coming. Many people can’t comprehend that because it’s never happened to them, but it is possible and very real.
Peel Region (City of Mississauga and Brampton) recently had a code black, thanks to staffing shortages from COVID-19. What that means is NO ambulances available – for a population of almost 1.4 million.
What about those 40-car pileups with 2 feet of snowfall where emergency services can’t get to you? A major protest, civil unrest, a fire, and on and on. My point is, expect help, eventually, just don’t ever count on it.
For Those in the City, You Can Get Stranded in a Car During Winter Too!!!
You may feel more secure in your travels and believe you are immune to this, think twice. There are so many off-ramps within city limits that are several kilometres along an open windy highway to get back into the city.
You are also more likely to be in pretty clothes and shoes versus functional clothes. On some days, this can mean freezing to death for abandoning your vehicle versus painfully waiting for help.
Distances feel very short in cars and can be deceiving. If you don’t walk regularly, you might not realize exactly how far things are when you are on foot. While you have more places to seek shelter, you also have far more cars, people and congestion – and congestion makes it that much harder for help to get to you – or that many more people who also need help and may receive it before you do!
Stranded in a Car During Winter
It’s time to wrap up Survival – Stranded in a Car During Winter. I need to add one of the most important topics before I let you go and that is your mind. Surviving a bad situation is heavily tied to the ability not to panic.
Hunters for example have been found dead in the bush, yet they had all the gear they needed to make it through. Don’t ever panic as it hinders your ability to think. Your mind also needs to re-enforce what is in your heart and that is the will to live!
If you think I’m missing something, by all means, please send your comments. If you like the post, or perhaps you want to share these tips with a loved one, please like, share and subscribe on our social channels.
And, if there is at least ONE single takeaway from this stranded in-car post, get yourself a super warm sleeping bag and throw it in your car! Do it now and never look back.
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