Vacationing Safely on a Road Trip

Guidelines to a safe vacation with your family

Exploring new sites on a road trip is one of the best ways to make family memories that last a lifetime. As fun as a road trip can be, though, it also presents some potential hazards that must be addressed to ensure an enjoyable and safe trip.

The good news is that if you plan for these potential hazards before you leave home, you won’t have to focus on them too much while you’re driving, meaning that you can enjoy even more the time spent with your family.

Vacation is meant to be fun, but you have to be mindful of the limits to your fun and keep safe while on the road trip, for pleasant holiday memories.

Properly Prepare Your Vehicle

To ensure your vehicle provides you with a safe and comfortable ride, it’s important to properly prepare before you leave home. Check your tires for proper tread, change your oil to provide good engine lubrication, and make sure that all headlight and taillight bulbs are working properly. These are key steps to take before you back out of your driveway. It’s also a good idea to take along an emergency kit so that you can address any unexpected vehicle issues that may pop up along the way.

Watch Out for Work Zones

One thing that can slow down your progress on a trip is a construction zone. While it may be frustrating to have to wait in traffic, it’s important to pay attention to all traffic control personnel that are posted around the site. If you don’t, you could find yourself facing severe penalties because of an accident you caused that was otherwise totally avoidable.

Hide Valuables

Even if you’re an experienced road warrior, you will still eventually have to stop and take a break. When you do, it’s important that you hide your valuables to help reduce the chance of a vehicle break-in. If you have a trunk, that is the best place for valuables, as it’s the most difficult for potential thieves to access. Otherwise, you can use items like coats or blankets to cover-up valuables when you’re away from your vehicle.

Check the Forecast

Changing road conditions can make for tricky and potentially dangerous driving on the way to your destination. To help prepare for these changing conditions, it’s a good idea to check the forecast a few times while you’re driving. By preparing for the weather that’s predicted for the area where you’re driving, you’ll be able to determine if you might encounter any inclement weather that could degrade road conditions.

Listen to Your Passengers

Although the dreaded “back-seat driver” is something that everyone wants to avoid, there’s something to be said for listening to your passengers to help you avoid danger. Since your passengers provide extra sets of eyes and ears, it’s important to listen to them if they spot a dangerous situation that you don’t notice. This will increase your chances of avoiding the dangerous situation so that you can continue on to your destination unscathed.

Author bio

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan

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