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What's In Your Glove Compartment?

Do you keep your gloves in your car's glove compartment? That handy little storage space in the dashboard of most autos is chock full, but few people store gloves there anymore.

The glove compartment was first introduced in the 1920s, when fashionable ladies and gents did wear gloves. The heating systems of early automobiles were not up to today's standards and a pair of gloves were a driving necessity on all but the warmest days. Where to store your driving gloves when you left the car? The perfect solution was the glove compartment, a small, latched box in the front of the car.

A study by the Chrysler group found out that eighty-four percent of Americans no longer use their car's glove box to store gloves. In fact, 72% do not have any idea why they call that handy little storage space a 'glove compartment'. In some areas the name has even changed. In areas of the Northwest USA it's called a jockey box. We have been assured that no jockeys were stored in the box.

What do people squirrel away in their glove compartment?

In the movies, it's a handy place to stuff with your parking tickets or a gun for the working detective... or both!

In the real world, most driver's don't collect tickets to fall out when stopped for a traffic violation. Just imagine talking your way out of that speeding ticket. The glove compartment in a car usually matches the driver. Mom's may have a spare diaper or snacks and toys to keep the kids amused if they get fussy.

For many, this is where the extra sugar, mustard and plastic utensils get stuffed after a quick drive-thru meal. Notebooks to jot down mileage, sales calls or the phone number of the cute driver next to you at the light are also candidates for glove box storage.

There are a few items that drivers commonly keep close by:

• Drivers (94%) usually keep proof of their car insurance in the glove box to make sure it's nearby in case of an accident.
• The second most popular item (92%) to be found in the glove compartment is the car's vehicle registration.
• What do you reach for when something spills while you're driving? Tissue and napkins... which come in as number three for glove box contents (71%).
• While many drivers keep maps in the door pockets of their cars, 63% stuff them in the glove box.
• Need a flashlight in a hurry? Many (53%) drivers have one available in their glove compartment.
• Do your sunglasses keep slipping off the visor when you don't need them? Perhaps that's why 47% of American drivers stick them in the glove box?
• You never know when you'll want to get at your car's first-aid kit. Prepared drivers (38%) have it in the glove compartment.
• One surprise should make the car thieves of America smile. Nearly half (44%) of all American drivers keep the vehicle's title in the glove box. That means if anyone steals your car, they can prove that they own it!
  
  If you are one of these drivers, move the title to your wallet or keep it at home. You only need your license and registration if you are stopped and your proof of insurance if you are involved in an accident. Don't make life easier for car thieves by providing them with the title to your vehicle.

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