Winter driving presents many situations where you may be forced to spend the night in your car—breaking down, getting stuck, running out of fuel, or just being the victim of unexpected bad weather. If you're ever forced to spend a cold night in your car your best chance of survival depends on having emergency supplies and knowing how to use those supplies to stay warm.

Wilderness safety weblog OutdoorSafe notes that if you're ever in this type of situation and can't contact rescuers you should stay in your car (it provides both shelter and can allow you to signal for help) and use the sleeping bag or blankets in your Winter car emergency kit to help keep you warm. You can run the engine of your car for ten minutes each hour as long as you can ensure the tail pipe is clear of snow and you leave yourself a one-inch opening in the window to hopefully alleviate excess carbon monoxide buildup. It's probably a good idea to purchase a CO detector strip to keep in your car kit for just this type of occasion—the author claims that 60% of unintentional deaths in the US are caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and weighing that versus a four-dollar detection strip seems like a no-brainer if you live in colder areas.

See the rest of the post in the source link below for additional tips to get you through an unexpected night in your car in the dead of Winter. Photo by Martin Stoermer

Spending a Night in Your Car | OutdoorSafe