Have a teenager who is fortunate enough to drive their own vehicle? You need to make sure they have a Get Home Bag (GHB) too! Given the circumstances that most teen drivers are faced with such as older cars, a gas light which is perpetually on and the fact that most teens are always broke… a GHB might actually be more necessary in their vehicle than ours.
My daughter has her own car and two jobs which require her to travel around town. Even with her jobs and the ever necessary “hanging out with friends” she never usually drives further than 20 miles from our home in any one direction. Still yet I have made sure the trunk of her vehicle is stocked with a GHB and AAA Roadside kit.
I had to identify a few constraints when building her GHB, as she is obviously not built like me nor is she legally allowed to carry a pistol for self defense. Some of those limiting factors were:
Weight. The bag had to be small and light, something she could easily carry for a distance of up to 20 miles.
Weapons. No pistols allowed obviously, and that also means no spare ammunition.
Experience level. Tossing in lots of gadgets and doo-dads which I might be able to use would not be of value to her, everything had to be straightforward and practical.
The good news is that she truly is never *that* far from home at any one time, so the main goal was to provide her with enough equipment to be able to (a) survive stranded in her car for a many hours in the event of a massive storm or (b) be able to walk home over the period of a day if T-SHTF in a major way. I also wanted to be able to provide some self defense items which you will see pictured below.
From top to bottom and left to right the list of contents includes:
- Wool socks
- Sturdy Boots (which she has worn and broken in)
- Lightweight Backpack
- Water Bottles (3)
- MRE’s (2)
- Sweater
- Jeans
- Reflective Belt
- Chem Lights (2)
- Headlamp with red lens
- Roll of Quarters
- Folding Knives (2)
- Hand Sanitizer
- Anti Bacterial Cream
- Rain Ponchos (2) One to wear and one for shelter
- Wet Ones wipes
- Pain pills
- Lighters (2)
- 5 Hour Energy
- Whistle
- Kimber Pepper Blaster
I really like the Kimber Pepper Blaster for a self defense item although I have told her that a whistle is probably her best line of defense against creepers. In the event of a long walk home after T-SHTF she knows to stay out of sight and avoid the populace which would help to minimize her exposure to evil doers.
In addition to the GHB I have made sure to stock her trunk with the ubiquitous AAA Roadside Emergency Kit for not-so-SHTF type events such as needing a jump or tow. I do like the fact that the kit has basic first aid supplies in it, which is why I did not include them in her GHB. She can transfer as necessary obviously.
So there you have it, make sure your teen drivers are prepared because this is definitely not a task most would take on by themselves!
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I made sure my daughters had a basic tool kit in their trunks. They may not know what to do/how to use them, but if they ever break down, someone else may be able to help them! (of course, that worked better in the day that cars weren’t computer driven and you could still wrench on em!) My grandpa did that for my mom, and my dad did it for me! I continually reinforce the idea that they need an emergency kit as well (they are adults now). I like your suggestions.
Author
Great point about having the essential items so that a good Samaritan might be able to assist. I’ve showed my daughter how to jump start a car but I’m sure she has already forgotten. At least she has the cables if it ever comes down to it. The best thing to do obviously, is to make sure the car is in a good state of repair and up to date on all services.
I would also suggest a can of fix a flat and an emergency bivy or emergency blanket to retain heat.
I would also suggest a reuseable (or throw away) emergency blanket. Perhaps some water proof matches and fire starter, they dont takr up much space and she injured the fire can help for warmth and also as a signaling…. oh And a whistle, sometimes someone cant yell but one lil breath can tell someone where she is.
Sorry just noticed you do have fire source and whistle.
Author
No worries Jocelyn, thanks for the comment!
Hey, I know this post is 2.5 years old, but you know/remember what version that AAA Roadside Emergency Kit is? they typically classify them by the number of “pieces” with every Band-Aid as a “piece”.
I’ve got this exact one, judging by the tow rope, which I haven’t seen listed online elsewhere, again judging by the lack of picturing/listing the tow rope, so I just wanted to know for itemization’s sake.
If you don’t know or recall, that’s perfectly understandable, but thanks either way.
Found it! http://cms.midatlantic.aaa.com/Store/Travel/LifelineAAASelectEmergencyRoadKit