Safety Tips for a Family Road Trip

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It’s just you, your family, and your trusted motor out on the open road. What could possibly go wrong? Well, we don’t want to alarm you, but possibly quite a lot. Safety needs to be your number one priority on your family road trip, so follow our protective tips to ensure you reduce the chances of a calamity while away.

• To ensure your car gets from A to B and everywhere in between, give it a tune-up before you head out. While you may have some skills under the bonnet, it’s still in your best interest to take the car to a qualified mechanic for that professional touch. A service may be expensive, but for peace of mind and your family’s safety, the cost should be more than worth it.
• Make a note of every emergency phone number you can think of, from your local breakdown repair company to the people providing your car and holiday insurance. You might also consider having a personal injury attorney on speed dial as well - check out Derricklawfirm.com as one example - as well as the numbers of your friends and family so you can touch base with people at home should any mishap befall you while away.
• Load up your car with all the necessary essentials to keep you all protected. Keep you and your family cool and hydrated with water and fresh fruit; stock up your first-aid kit for such things as sunburn and insect bites; and load up your car with those other important things, such as a spare tyre in the event of a breakdown, a GPS to ensure you don’t go too far off the beaten track, and a portable phone charger should you need to make an emergency phone call.
• Get a good night’s sleep the night before you head out, as tiredness is one of the leading causes of accidents when out on the road. If you do start to feel tired when driving, do the sensible thing and pull over for a rest stop, or pass over driving duties to one of your traveling companions, provided they are insured and qualified to do so.
• Provide entertainment for your kids to ensure they don’t distract you while you are driving. From books to portable DVD players, have plenty of things for them to do. While you do need to keep your eyes on the road, you should also play some common car games with your kids too. This way, you will have something else to concentrate on; perfect for those long journeys when you may be prone to tiredness otherwise.
• Be a sensible driver and adhere to all the usual road rules when traversing the highways and byways. Not only do you want to want to avoid an accident, but you don’t want to end up with a nasty speeding fine, either. Take steps to avoid road rage, too, as you aren’t the only driver coping with hot temperatures and possible traffic problems when out on the road.

By following these simple guidelines, your family road trip is (almost) guaranteed to be a safer one. We may not have covered everything, of course, so if you have any further safety tips for prospective road trippers, be sure to let us know. Enjoy your summer, and thanks for reading!