I carry one under the driver's seat: I've done so ever since one time, in my postal jeep.
I was in northern MI, LATE in the fall: I woke up one morning, due to a storm. The wind had torn the stakes out of the tent corners, the temperature had dropped to just above freezing, and the rain had started turning to snow. I started the Postal, so it could warm up (I use the term 'warm', very loosely, since it WAS a postal jeep).
It, of course, stalled, while I was wadding up the sleeping bag and tent to throw into the back. When I was finished, I tried to re-start it. That's when I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood. I opened up the hood, and noticed the ground wire for the starter relay was on fire. I calmly reached in, turned off the ignition, and the fire went away. However, the ground wire for the relay had burned in two. I was able to talk to a ranger, and get another wire from their shed, then rewire it.
However, the next time I tried to start the jeep, the smoke started coming from UNDER the dashboard. I calmly turned it off, walked to the nearest pay phone, and called for a tow. 3 hours, some ramen noodles and hot chocolate later, the tow truck driver arrived, took one look at me, and said, "YOU? Again?!" 
(As strange as this may seem, I did indeed end up stranded once or twice while in the Postal  )
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