I have heard that this year we will see plenty of snow and ice. In fact, Scotland had snow only last month!

At the moment we have had funny weather with November being more mild than normal, but don’t get fooled into thinking winter is going to be mild. Get yourself prepared now for the unexpected. The last thing you want is to be coming home from work and stuck in traffic because the weather has taken a bad turn. Worse still, is to be stuck in your car, as many motorist experienced last year and to run out of fuel, over-heat your engine and have limited visibility as your screen wash ran out.

I thought I would put together a check list of items you need to be thinking about packing into your boot so that you are prepared and I mean, as soon as possible:

1 – High visibility waterproof coat, gloves and hat. You might need to ditch the car and walk.

2 – 3 litre bottle of water, not only will it keep you hydrated, it can be used to top up engine water if your car has over-heated due to no water. It can also be used for the windscreen washer, if you forgot to top that up.

3 – Shovel, it will most certainly help you free your car in the snow.

4 – Snow chain and a tow rope are ideal, but understandably most people won’t have these items, so the shovel would be a must!

5 – Emergency phone numbers and mobile phone car charger.

6 – Torch

7 – Sweets, it might help keep the hunger worms at bay if you have missed dinner stuck in your car.

8 – Mask, or at least scarf of some sort to wear over your face if you have had to ditch the car and are walking past traffic. This happened to a friend who said the fumes almost knocked him out!

9 – Jump leads, this is something you should always carry, but certainly if you are stuck in traffic and are using electrics, you don’t want your battery to go flat, particularly if the life of your battery is old.

10 – Warning Triangle and first aid kit. Be prepared if its not you that’s in trouble and you come to the aid of someone else!