Delivery drivers spend long hours on the road, often dealing with unexpected situations. Having the right tools in your vehicle helps you stay safe, efficient, and prepared throughout your shift.
Whether you’re working with DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Instacart, or Amazon Flex, these essentials can make a major difference in your day.
Here are the top 5 items every delivery driver should keep in the car (along with sponsored links to purchase the items through Amazon at no extra cost to you. Just get it done it one Sha-Boom!
- A Reliable Backup Phone Mount for Emergencies
Your main phone mount can break, loosen, or fall off during a shift. When that happens, navigation becomes frustrating and unsafe. Keeping a backup mount in your glove compartment ensures you’re never stuck holding the phone or balancing it on the dashboard. A second mount gives you peace of mind, especially during late-night deliveries or high-demand periods when you can’t afford delays. - Extra Charging Cables and a High-Output Car Charger
(That’s actually two things, but for the sake of humanity let’s just call it number 2…pun intended)
Delivery apps drain your phone fast due to GPS, data usage, and constant screen time. A high-output car charger keeps your battery healthy, and having extra cables ensures you’re covered if one becomes damaged or stops working. Many drivers also keep a portable power bank for moments when they step out of the car or temporarily lose access to the charging port. - Insulated Hot-Cold Bags
These bags keep food fresh and protected during transport. They help maintain temperature, prevent spills, and show professionalism to customers. A medium-sized bag handles most daily orders, while a larger catering-style bag prepares you for grocery runs or multiple stacked orders. - A Small Emergency Toolkit
Even small car issues can put an entire shift on hold. A compact emergency toolkit can save time and reduce stress. Helpful items include jumper cables, a tire pressure gauge, a small flashlight, a multi-tool, duct tape, and a portable tire inflator or sealant. These items help you handle the unexpected without waiting for roadside assistance. - Pepper Spray for Personal Safety
Delivery often means entering dim parking lots, quiet neighborhoods, or unfamiliar apartment complexes. Pepper spray provides a simple, legal, non-lethal safety tool that can help you stay protected if a situation ever feels threatening. Keeping it accessible but secure gives you confidence while working late or delivering in isolated areas.
These recommendations come from over 20 years of combined delivery experience on the road, learning what actually matters during long shifts, late nights, and unpredictable days. After thousands of miles and countless deliveries, certain tools consistently prove themselves as essentials for both safety and efficiency.
Whether you are brand new or a seasoned driver, keeping these items in your car can make every route smoother, every shift more productive, and every situation easier to manage. At DeliverySoCal.com, our goal is to help drivers stay prepared, stay informed, and stay ahead as the industry continues to evolve.
With over 10 years working experience in the delivery app industry, we try to deliver the hottest resources for deliver driver apps, customer perks, and insights to the best delivery experience. We do use AI to assist in our posts, and we personally curate the topics that interest you most!