Post:Prepare to be Safe

From Fozzee.net

As some of you may be aware, June is National Safety Month. Yes, I'm aware that it's not June yet, but there's no harm in preparing early. Truth is, I have on my to-do list this month to refresh and tune up the "roadside kits" in our cars, and have wanted to do a major write-up on that for some time. There's probably a National Preparedness Month (not in June) or something, but with summer travel and potentially severe weather coming soon, now seemed like the right time to get started.

In our automotive preparedness system, we have basically two groups of supplies: Those that are stored in the car itself and those stored in the "roadside kit". Stuff stored in the car tends to be car-related, like jumper cables, spare tires, spare bulbs, etc; The kit contains the first aid equipment, a more general assortment of tools, and various other supplies.

In future installments, I'll explore how my "Kit + Car" strategy compares to more conventional groupings such as EDC, BOB, INCH (It's ok if you don't know what those are yet; We'll get there...). I'll also walk through the (re)design of my kits, as I'm doing it; Since emergency supplies are a personalized thing, I can't just provide a list and say "go get it", but rather people need to be educated as to how to decide for themselves what they need to include.

Part of what is going to set this apart from other similar howtos online is that I'm trying to maintain a realistic perspective of what I (or other people) will likely encounter. Think of it as an actuary's guide to preparedness. If something is small, lightweight and cheap, it's less important that it be needed everyday, but if something is bulky, heavy, or expensive, it'd better be getting used all the time, and have absolutely no substitute.