Susan,
You are correct when I said tire iron I really meant a lug wrench; the one that comes with the car is fine.

Erik,
The MA training and knife are good but if someone tries to size you up as a potential target they will think twice if they see you holding a D cell Maglite and a lug wrench or other tool.
If the police show up they will not think to hard about a broken-down motorist with proper tools in hand as opposed to a knife for example. This way you discourage preditors without alarming the police.

WAlmost any headlamp you can buy will be reliable; Doug has one he sells. Petzl has been making headlamps for the longest time.

I was thinking more in terms of an actual physical encounter. As for discouraging attacks, if my size (225 lbs) and the knife visibly attached to my belt isn't enough to deter them, i don't think a wrench is gonna make them reconsider. As for LEOs, where i live most people carry a knife of some kind, and it's only got a 3" blade. If the situation is such that I'm forced to use my knife, i'm probably going to end up handing it over to the authorities anyway.

Welcome Newguy!

As far as present day lug wrenches go, those puny stamped out of sheet metal pieces of junk will barely manage to remove a tire, in my opinion they are far from what I would call a weapon. Better than nothing for sure, but they won't hold a candle to a "real" lug wrench of old...

A few other things I would include for winter

A couple of tubes of sand (or more if you have a truck). Added weight on the rear axle and can be used for additional traction if you wind up going off road

Tow strap. If a Good Samaritan is willing to help, it could be for naught if neither of you has a tow strap

Shovel – for digging

2T Come-along – A means to pull a vehicle out of a ditch