I would think maybe some of their old ways would be being a little more prudent about risks on the road ?
Maybe a good size portion of reflective tape to put on their vehicle or clothes for visibility if they break down at night since vests are bulkier and more costly. Notepads and good pens that write reliably ? A whistle ?

thank you, I hadn't thought about the tape

I've done the same for my kids and made them first aid kits and roadside kits. I do it to show i care and it makes a great gift anyways. I doubt they would do it otherwise. Just like when I used to buy them snow boots as I know they wouldn't until they finally started snow boarding as a sport. Seems they finally appreciate such things when they have their own brats to worry over!

A few things for just a small container might be:

- Bic lighter with duct tape wrapped around it
- Tee light candles as they don't spill easy and store small
- A flattened roll of T/P
- small roll of snare wire
- mini flash light
- bandaids
- hard candies
- at least 2 mini blankets
- some hand warmer packs for boots and hands
- a small $10 leatherman style pliers tool for that everything tool

One item that I can highly recommend is a retro-reflective arm band. The ones I use came from Canadian Tire..... cost around $5.00 ea; they have 5 LED lights in them. You can either have it on steady, or flashing. Flashing seems to work well for me. Yes, they use a little flat disc battery, but the lifetime is quite good.

this is a great idea. I travel a lot and I have a kit in my car which was made from my own pesonal experiances travelling.

I would add to knuckles list some rope, non perashable food that can be easily opened and eaten (freeze dried or mre style), quick tire foam sealer, tire pump, gloves, road flares.

I use my tire pump and sealer more then anything else in my kit. flat tires in the middle of no where are always a pain.

this is a great idea. I travel a lot and I have a kit in my car which was made from my own pesonal experiances travelling.

I would add to knuckles list some rope, non perashable food that can be easily opened and eaten (freeze dried or mre style), quick tire foam sealer, tire pump, gloves, road flares.

I use my tire pump and sealer more then anything else in my kit. flat tires in the middle of no where are always a pain.

Now your kits getting up to my size somewhat as I have jumper cables and many more tools too. I think Old School was making something a bit smaller.

On another note, that tire sealer has let me down as it indeed freezes and won't fill anything in any below zero weather....beware! I now have a small 12volt compressor in my truck instead. And snare wire does all most rope can and more....(try it sometime)and ya can even snare something too if you plan on staying awhile 😀

Now your kits getting up to my size somewhat as I have jumper cables and many more tools too. I think Old School was making something a bit smaller.

On another note, that tire sealer has let me down as it indeed freezes and won't fill anything in any below zero weather....beware! I now have a small 12volt compressor in my truck instead. And snare wire does all most rope can and more....(try it sometime)and ya can even snare something too if you plan on staying awhile 😀

agreed, I was trying to keep it small for the kit as I have a pretty sizable kit with cables and tools and other sorts. I too have also has the freezing issue with the tire sealer but that being said it has saved by butt a few times so I carry it. Road flares are a must as well as if you blow a tire and end up 100 feet down a cliff they work great for signalling.

I was just thinking that what is the main issue you are going to have on the road when you travell, 90% of the time I bet you it will be a flat tire.

This right now is the time of year most of us up here fear most. It's when the moosey's with to play bumper with your truck and charge the oncoming headlights. I took out 2 at one time once as i came along just as they were about to scrap each other. Just barely missed 3 a couple years back as a fresh reminder as to how close death can be playing that game....flats seem easy then 😆

The rules are to try to get home before dark and your home free! But when we have to risk travel at night, we only take the H-3 now (due to the little windows so moose don't come in) and we have some major moose lights on it to match any aircraft. the bad thing is it's so lit up at night that we can't see any others coming and might blind them inadvertently. Luckily few others travel at night here without their own moose lights too! I often note that life Insurance is no good to dead people!

This right now is the time of year most of us up here fear most. It's when the moosey's with to play bumper with your truck and charge the oncoming headlights. I took out 2 at one time once as i came along just as they were about to scrap each other. Just barely missed 3 a couple years back as a fresh reminder as to how close death can be playing that game....flats seem easy then 😆

The rules are to try to get home before dark and your home free! But when we have to risk travel at night, we only take the H-3 now (due to the little windows so moose don't come in) and we have some major moose lights on it to match any aircraft. the bad thing is it's so lit up at night that we can't see any others coming and might blind them inadvertently. Luckily few others travel at night here without their own moose lights too! I often noted that life Insurance is really no good to the deceased!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Knuckle you are correct. I am trying to think of something rather small for the moment to give these people at least something. There is no sense giving them something large that will just go to waste or overwhelm them.

Part of my thought process is that if they have something that they are comfortable with but it does not take away from the security they feel when they are driving it may just open them up to other things. The snacks - if they are just stuck in traffic they may be more likely to grab something out of a small container and start to see the benefit from having something in the car.

One thing that I always stash in my truck in various locations is............MONEY!

I tuck $5 away here and $10 here. The wife liked stealing my stashes and so I got sneekier over time. The point is that if I forgot my wallet or the credit card doesn't work or the ATM is down, I'm not out of options! I have dipped into these stashes enough times in life to know they are a good thing and so I create more and often am surprised when I find a stash I forgot about. Who cares as it now becomes free money that I never knew about!

Old age can sometimes be fun too! I'm claiming Alzheimer's as an excuse for everything I didn't want to do and it seems to be working!

Oldschool, I think your original issue is something many of us face. Preparedness by those around us is lacking and because you take it so seriously you get the "eye roll." Our approach is you cant bombard them but simply start small. Keeping a 72 hour kit as a starting point...

We are doing stocking stuffers with items for emergency preparedness.

Little items that may help don't hurt at all so we are trying that approach. We are starting small with items you would typically find in a 72 hour kit like:
-Tea Lights
-Flashlights
-Batteries
-Multi Tool Knives
-First Aid Kits
-Chap Stick
-Hand Sanitzier
-Fire Extinguishers / CO / CO2 Detectors
-Whistle
-Books
-Crank Radio

FEMA has a page for some kewl ideas:

http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2012/12/22/give-your-loved-ones-gift-emergency-preparedness