Holiday Travel Safety

With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, many of you are making plans for trips to see relatives and friends.  While fitting all your luggage into the car and still leaving room for the presents you’ll bring home is important, there is an even more important concern: your safety and that of your passengers. 

When planning holiday travel, it’s important to follow a few driving-related precautions to help ensure your family’s safety.

Plan your route before you get on the road. Check for things like weather, construction, or severe traffic that may force you to detour from your normal path (in which case it would be good to have a GPS or map handy). Be aware of any tolls you might encounter and have plenty of cash on hand.
Take your car to a mechanic or service it yourself to make sure it is in top operating condition. Check all fluid levels and tire pressure, including the spare. Know phone numbers for roadside assistance in case your vehicle breaks down.
Make sure your cell phone is fully charged, and then leave it alone while you’re driving.  Any activity that distracts your eyes from the road is dangerous.  Cell phone use is the number one distraction.  You may not believe it, but the amount of time it takes to send an average text takes your eyes off the road for the length of a football field.  Let your co-pilot check your messages, decipher the GPS and help you watch for road hazards. 
If you are traveling with children, have plenty of activities to occupy them, as distracted parents can be a danger on the road. Make sure electronic devices are fully charged. Try to stop every two to three hours to stretch your legs and give yourself a break. The most important thing to remember is that every person in your vehicle should be wearing a seatbelt, no matter the age. It is especially important to make sure children are in proper seats corresponding to their size/age. Seatbelts increase your chance of surviving an accident by 75%.
Keep an emergency kit on hand, including flares, duct tape, a flashlight, bandages, water, snacks etc.  I always pack a blanket or two in the car just in case.  They may come in handy if you get stranded in cold weather.
When traveling with pets, they should be in a secured crate or special “pet seatbelt.”  That may sound ridiculous, but it is as important as making sure children are buckled. If you are in an accident your pet can become a projectile, not only injuring themselves, but possibly injuring yourself or passengers. Just like children, pets can be severely injured by airbags. They also can be a danger if left running loose in the car by distracting the driver, or (in the case of small pets) getting down by the gas and brake pedals, with the potential of causing an accident.
If your holiday travel involves parties including alcoholic beverages,  please, please get a designated driver or stay put until you are sober. 
Try to plan your travel when you are wide awake and alert.  Driving at night when traffic is lighter and kids can sleep can be convenient, but make sure you take turns driving and keeping each other awake if you have a partner.  If you don’t, even a short nap takes away some of the risk of driving when you’re too tired.  Exhaustion is a distraction, too!
Don’t let heavy traffic, impolite drivers or the possibility of being late stress you out. Remain calm, obey all traffic laws, and get to your destination safely!
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