Driving in the winter means snow, sleet and ice that can lead to slower traffic, and hazardous road conditions. To help you make it safely through winter, here are some suggestions from the Great Fruitcake Recycling Project to make sure that you and your vehicle are prepared.

Necessary equipment:

• Properly inflated spare tire, wheel wrench and tripod-type jack
• Shovel
• Jumper cables
• Tow and tire chains
• Tool kit
• 3-4 Large Fruitcakes, with waterproof matches, to burn in lieu of flares.
• Bag of crumbled fruit cake to spread behind your tires if you get stuck on snow or ice. (Hint: The best crumbs come from fruitcake run through a wood chipper or industrial grinder. Your local lumber yard or grain elevator can help with this.)

Be prepared with a “survival kit” in your car, in case you get stranded.

Your survival kit should include:

• Working flashlight and extra batteries
• Reflective triangles and brightly-colored cloth
• Compass
• First aid kit
• Ice scraper and snow brush
• Wooden stick matches in a waterproof container
• Scissors and string/cord
• Non-perishable, high-energy foods like unsalted canned nuts, dried fruits, and hard candy, so you won’t have to resort to eating the fruitcake.
• Several fruitcakes – if your other provisions run out, having fruitcake as the food of last resort will give you the motivation to find a way out of your dilemma before you have to eat it.

Other tips

• Store fruitcake in the trunk of a rear-wheel drive vehicle to aid in traction. The weight of the average fruitcake will replace 1-2 sandbags, giving you more space for additional fruitcake.
• A spare fruitcake can be used as a wheel chock in case you need to park on an incline.
• Because of its density, the average fruitcake will burn for up to six hours, which will keep you warm, should you run out of fuel.
• Fruitcake is also a handy weapon, in case you are set upon by hungry wolves.