Most drivers carry nothing until the day they need it. Then it's dark, the car won't start, and the phone is almost dead.

This is the list we'd start from for most cars. You can buy every item at an ordinary store. We give you the specs, not brand names, so you can pick what fits your budget and your car. Your owner's manual wins wherever it differs from us, especially for jump-starting, tire changes, and hybrids or EVs.

Check the list twice a year. Pick two dates you'll remember and do it then.

Glovebox

These live in the cabin, within reach. Remember that a parked car's cabin still gets very hot in summer and cold in winter.

A flashlight. Pick a small LED light with a tail switch. If it takes batteries, put in lithium cells instead of the cheap alkaline ones. Alkaline cells can leak after months of sitting, and the leak eats the contacts. A light that's dead when you reach for it is worse than no light. If you choose a rechargeable one, charge it every few months, because it won't charge itself.

A tire pressure gauge. A dial gauge with no battery can't die in a hot car. A digital one is easy to read, but check its battery now and then. Low tires are a problem a driver can fix without a shop, and you can't fix what you can't measure.

A phone charger for the car. A 12-volt plug-in with the right cable for your phone. Keep the cable in the glovebox, not in your bag.

A small first-aid kit. Bandages, gauze, wipes. Look at the expiry dates. Ointments and pain tablets age out first, and a hot glovebox speeds that up. Replace them when they expire.

Work gloves. Engines and tires are dirty and sometimes hot.

A pen and a card for accident info. Name, phone, insurance company, plate number, and the other driver's same details. You will not think clearly after a crash. Write it down.

Your registration and proof of insurance, in one sleeve. When you get pulled over, you don't want to dig.

Trunk

This is the roadside kit. Pack it once and leave it.

Jumper cables or a jump pack. A dead battery is a very common reason people call for roadside help. Both work. Here's the trade. Whichever you pick, read the jump-start steps in your owner's manual first. It shows where the jump points are, and it tells you if your car (some hybrids and EVs, for example) needs a different method. Check that the pack or cables are rated for your car's battery and engine size.

Cables are cheap and have no battery to go bad. You need a second car and someone willing to help. If you buy them, look for 4-gauge, pure copper, 16 feet or longer. Some cables sold as "4 gauge" use copper-coated aluminum wire, which carries less. The product page should say "pure copper." If it doesn't say, assume it isn't.

A jump pack needs no second car. You can use it alone at night in a parking lot. The catch is the lithium battery inside. A closed trunk or cabin in a North Carolina summer can get hot enough to hurt it. Look up the storage temperature range for the pack you buy, and don't leave it in the car on days that go past that range. If you can't keep it within the range, carry it in with you or choose cables. Recharge it every few months, even if you never use it. A pack that sat dead for a year won't start anything.

If you drive alone a lot, or you're a new driver, we lean toward the pack. If you want the simple, cheap, no-maintenance answer, cables.

A tire inflator. A 12-volt plug-in type works with no lithium and no recharging. Follow the instructions on the unit and in your owner's manual. Some plug into the cigarette lighter socket and some clip to the battery. If the instructions say to run the engine so the battery isn't drained, do it outdoors only, with nothing blocking the tailpipe. Never run a car in a garage, even with the door open, because the exhaust can poison you.

Something to be seen with. Skip road flares. They are a fire risk, they burn out, and you don't want to light one on a shoulder with traffic going by. Use LED flares or folding reflective triangles. Put them out behind your car if it's safe to get out. Add a bright reflective vest. If you stand outside the car on a road, you want drivers to see you.

A small tool roll. A 6-inch adjustable wrench, slip-joint pliers, a screwdriver with several bits, and a folding knife. That covers a loose battery terminal, a hose clamp, and a lot of small stuff. Skip the 100-piece kits with cheap tools that bend the first time you lean on them.

Duct tape and zip ties. For securing a loose, minor item, like a dragging plastic splash shield. They don't make anything that affects braking, steering, or the tires safe to drive. If it's one of those, call for help.

Shop towels and a trash bag. Wipe your hands, check the oil, bag the dirty stuff.

A rain poncho. Waiting out a breakdown in the rain is miserable. This costs very little and takes no room.

Spare tire tools. If your car has a spare, confirm now that the jack and lug wrench are there, and that you have the key for locking wheel nuts if your wheels use them. If you're on a narrow shoulder or a busy road, skip the tire change and call roadside assistance.

A space blanket. Thin, foil-like, fits in your palm. If you wait a long time in the cold, it helps.

A tire plug kit (optional). Skip this if you're unsure. A spare or a roadside assistance call is the safer default. A plug only suits a small puncture in the tread, never the sidewall, and a tire driven flat can be damaged inside where you can't see it. If you do use one, read the instructions ahead of time, drive slowly and straight to a tire shop, and expect that they may want to replace the tire.

New and teen driver extras

If you're giving this to a new driver, add a few things on top.

We have a free teen glovebox card for this: download the teen glovebox card (PDF).

Winter

North Carolina gets little snow, but when it comes, it catches people off guard. A few things are worth having from October to February: an ice scraper with a brush, a fleece blanket, a hat and gloves, and a few hand warmers. Hand warmers have expiry dates. Check them. A small folding shovel helps if you get stuck in a driveway.

Keep the washer fluid full. Use one rated for cold weather.

What's specific to your car

Here's where most lists fall short. Some of what goes in your car depends on the car, and no list can tell you that.

Oil. The right oil weight is in your owner's manual. It's also often printed on the oil filler cap. Don't guess. If you carry a bottle of oil in the trunk, carry the right one.

Coolant. This matters more than people think. Coolant comes in different types, and the wrong one can cause damage. The manual says which type your car needs. If you can't find it, call a parts counter with your year, make, and model, and have them look it up. Don't pour in whatever is cheapest. Never open the cap on a hot engine. The system is under pressure and can spray scalding coolant. Let the engine cool completely and follow the manual.

Tire pressure. Look at the sticker inside the driver's door. That number is the one to use. The number printed on the tire itself is the tire's maximum. Your car wants the door-sticker number. Check the tires when they're cold, meaning the car has sat for a few hours or you've driven less than a mile.

Your battery and your spare. Know where your battery is. Some cars hide it under a seat or in the trunk. Know whether you have a real spare, a small temporary one, or no spare and a sealant kit. Find out now. You do not want to learn it on a dark road.

Write all of this on a card and keep it in the glovebox: oil weight, coolant type, tire pressures, and the phone numbers you'd call. Five minutes with the manual now saves you a bad guess later.

One last thing

You don't need to buy everything today. If you do one thing, put a flashlight and a way to jump the car where you can reach them. Then add the rest over a few weeks.

This is general guidance. Rules and conditions differ by state, so check what applies where you drive.