Top things to do before embarking on a road trip over the Easter period
As the Easter holiday weekend approaches, thousands of people will travel across the country. Due to increased traffic, travel on South African roads could present significant challenges during this time.
Regardless of the distance of travel, it is paramount to ensure preparedness for potential emergencies. The combination of holiday traffic, long-distance journeys, and fatigue can escalate the risk of stress and anxiety during transit.
In light of these factors, we will explore several strategies aimed at ensuring the safety of both drivers and passengers during their travels.
Car checks
Undoubtedly, vehicle maintenance is an important component on any travel checklist, regardless of the journey’s length.
It is essential to ensure that your vehicle is in optimal mechanical condition. This involves conducting a thorough inspection for any potential issues with the tyres, ensuring proper wheel balancing and tyre pressure, assessing roadworthiness, checking the operation of the wipers, verifying the effectiveness of the brakes, and confirming the adequacy of all vehicle fluids.
Plan your route and breaks
While it's often overlooked, it’s crucial to always plan your route to avoid any potential delays due to construction or road closures. This also allows you to take regular breaks to rest to prevent fatigue, reduce the stress of travelling, and adjust for bad weather.
Thanks to navigation apps such as Waze and Google Maps, travellers can plan departure times and check what the road looks like ahead of them.
Have your emergency kit ready
Better be safe than sorry. It’s advisable to invest in an emergency kit to help you deal with roadside emergencies, especially due to the busy Easter period. These may include a spare tyre, a reflective vest, a warning triangle, a flashlight, jumper cables, and other car repair items that can help you get on the road as quickly as possible.
Also, a first aid kit is important as it will provide immediate treatment for minor injuries and can be vital while waiting for professional medical help in more serious situations.
Buckle-up
It’s a general rule to always ensure that everyone in the car is safely putting on a seatbelt. Before setting off, it’s important to ensure that the children are properly buckled up; this includes putting babies or toddlers in car seats to significantly enhance the protection of all occupants during travel.
Keep a safe following distance
As a fundamental safety measure, it is imperative to always maintain a safe following distance between your car and the car in front of you, as this gives you enough time to react in an emergency and avoid a possible accident.
Avoid Speeding
With more cars on the road, speeding becomes even more dangerous, and drivers forget the legal consequences that come with not adhering to the speed limit. Overspeeding also impacts relative reaction times and may result in the loss of vehicle control.
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