Holiday Driving Tips

Holiday Driving Tips

GoLocalProv has the best tips for how to drive safely—and keep your cool on the road—during the holiday week. This year AAA, estimates that 94 percent of holiday travel will be on the road—the highest percentage it has ever recorded. The experts—from AAA Southern New England to the local rep for the National Motorists Association—weigh in on how to plan your road trip.

1. Leave extra time for traffic. “The first piece of advice we give is the most obvious, which is, leave yourself extra time,” says David Raposa, a spokesman for AAA Southern New England. “The worst thing that could happen is you show up early. If you arrive early, you can … help clean the dishes or drive around the block a few times.” Another expert recommends planning to spend an extra 10 to 20 percent extra time driving. So, if your trip to your parents or other relatives would normally take four hours, plan on four and a half to five hours.

2. Don’t drive drowsy. “I think when people drive on longer trips, the biggest thing they need to look out for is fatigue,” says Raposa. “If you find yourself getting sleepy, the ultimate remedy is going to be sleep, not a short burst of caffeine. … Assuming you can pull over to a place of safety, a 15 to 20 minute nap is fine enough to clear the cobwebs and get your on your way.” Ideally, he recommends switching off drivers. If that’s not an option, he suggests stopping every two hours and taking a short break.

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3. Check everything on your car. This is as good a time as any, especially with a long trip ahead and the cold weather setting in, to check everything on your car. If you can’t remember when you last had an oil check that probably means you need another one. Same goes for your windshield wiper blades. Don’t forget to check your tire pressures and your windshield wiper fluid too. Frank also recommends turning on all the lights and doing a walk-around to make sure they all work, especially the license plate light. While you're at it, check your turn signals and brake lights.

4. Drink lots of water. “I also recommend staying hydrated,” says Tom Frank, the Rhode Island coordinator of the National Motorists Association. “Yes, it means you need to stop from time to time, but that's OK. It is a good idea to get out of the car and stretch periodically anyway.”

5. Relax, holiday travel isn’t as dangerous as some think. “Fortunately, the holidays are not quite as dangerous a time as they have been made out to be,” Frank told GoLocalProv. “It is not the number of fatalities on the road, it is the fatality rate (fatalities per mile driven). Given the significant increase in traffic on holidays (many more miles driven), the fact that the number of fatalities goes up very little is something we should all applaud.”

6. Follow the rules. “As always, follow the traditional rules of the road,” Frank says. “Keep right except to pass; practice lane disciple; use those turn signals; let faster traffic by; don't tailgate; travel with the flow of traffic. Pay extra attention to what's going on around you. Not everyone will be as well prepared as you are.”