Car Breakdown Checklist

Keep in the car all year

None of this is expensive, and all of it earns its place the day something goes wrong.

• A charged phone and a car charger or power bank
• A hi-vis vest for every occupant
• A torch
• A warning triangle (not for motorway use)
• Jump leads or a lithium jump pack
• A tyre inflator or sealant kit if there is no spare
• Water, and a warm layer in winter

Before a long journey

Check tyre pressures and tread, engine oil, coolant level and screenwash. Look at the tyres properly — including the spare, if you have one. Five minutes on a driveway prevents most roadside failures.

The first sixty seconds

Hazards on. Get off the carriageway if you can. Assess whether it is safer inside or behind a barrier. Then work out your location before you call, because that is the first thing you will be asked.

Know your cover

Keep your breakdown policy number in your phone rather than in the glovebox of the car you cannot open.