After having my car's battery die on me a few times, I'll never drive without this accessory in my trunk again

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.My adherence to driving laws tends to keep me out of trouble, but in one case it didn't.It was a drizzly day, I had my windshield wipers and headlights on, but because it was daytime, I forgot to turn them off.This didn't only happen once.It's a rough spot to be in. You either have to call a mechanic, AAA (if you have it), or a friend to come jump-start your car's battery.Thankfully, that's not an issue anymore. I tend not to beasirresponsible, but I also keep a self-jumping kit in my car. They didn't have my exact model on Amazon, but this one from Stanleyis similar and highlyrated.The process of self-jumping your car isn't too difficult, especially if you've seen a car's battery get jumped before. Even if you haven't, both the car battery and jumping cables have color-coded caps to make sure you don't mess up the polarity. If you do, though, the Stanley battery will soundan alarm so you can reverse the cables.Besides bringing your car's battery back to life, this external battery pack has two additional functions that I like. The first is a USB port. That might sound trivial, but if your car has more than one thing wrong with it, and you're going to need a mechanic, it's good to have your phone charged. This is especially true if you're driving at night where situations like this can feel more intense.The second is that this battery pack has a movable light. That's useful when you're jumping your car battery, but again, if you need more than a jump, it's niceto have a source of light.Although this battery is there to cover you in case of an emergency, itis still a battery that needs to be recharged every once in a while. If you pick one up, open the reminder or calendar app on your phone and set a quarterly reminder to charge the battery overnight. If you live in a climate that's prone to battery draining, you might want to bump that up to monthly.What you're ultimately paying for with a purchase like this is peace of mind. If something goes wrong, you don't have to panic; you already have a solution.Stanley 600 Peak Amp Jump Starter, $39.88, available at AmazonSEE ALSO:These are the tech accessories that never leave my carDON'T MISS:This car mount is the most versatile and reliable one I've ever usedJoin the conversation about this story
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