The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year. For drivers traveling across the country to be with family and friends, that means dealing with traffic and, for those going north, unsafe driving conditions. If you want to keep yourself and your family safe on your road trip, follow these four holiday travel tips.
Have Your Vehicle Serviced before Leaving
Car trouble is all too common during the holidays. Even if you’re not traveling through snowy weather, being stuck on the side of the road waiting for help to arrive is no fun. If you want to avoid the breakdown lane on your trip, take your car in for an inspection before leaving. Perhaps most importantly, be sure that your technician inspects your brakes and tires.
Know How to Drive Safely on Snowy and Icy Roadways
For us Floridians, nothing could be more foreign than driving in the snow and ice. Drivers who do not understand the proper procedures for driving in cold, slippery conditions should study up. If you can, wait until the snow has been cleared before heading out on your journey. Perhaps the most important holiday travel tip is to have patience—it’s not worth going on a trip if you can’t get to your destination safely.
Make Frequent Rest Stops
Regardless of the weather conditions, it’s critical that you take frequent breaks when driving across the country. Tired and drowsy drivers are practically as dangerous as drunk drivers. You need to stay alert in case anything should go wrong while you’re driving, so get a good night’s sleep before setting out and utilize those rest areas as much as you need.
Keep Your Cell Phone Charged
How did we get along before we had cell phones? They keep us connected to help when we most need them, like when we run out of gas on the road or need medical attention. But a cell phone does no good unless it is charged. Be sure that you have packed your cell phone charger and use it to charge your phone when your battery starts to get low. In fact, keep it plugged in as much as possible because if your battery dies, you’ll have no way to charge it until you get to your destination or a hotel.
A Note on Renting a Car
What happens if you get into an accident in your rental car? Well, if you don’t take the supplemental insurance that the rental company offers, then you need to make sure that your own insurance will cover you in the event of a car accident. A lot of people don’t realize this, but the car rental companies can actually deny you service if you end up getting into an accident and can’t pay for it. We once had a client who totaled her rental car and didn’t have the proper coverage. The company that rented her the car communicated with the other companies and put her on a “do not rent” list.
(On a side note, if you are rude or complain too much to the rental representative who is helping you, you could find yourself on such a list.)
If you don’t want to be blacklisted, just make sure that you have the coverage you need for a worst-case scenario.
We Do More than Offer Holiday Travel Tips
Get in touch with us today if you have been injured in an accident. Our personal injury team will help you get the compensation you need to recover.
