However, when you head out on a road trip, you could be setting yourself up for an accident if you’re not careful. This accident could be minor, requiring just some auto body repair, or it could be serious, leading to injury for you and your family. Here are 7 simple tips to reduce your risk of getting in an accident on your summer road trip.
Familiarize Yourself with Your Car’s Safety Features
Cars are safer today than they’ve ever been. They have many safety features that can help reduce your risk of accidents. Before heading out on a road trip, take some time with your car’s manual. Figure out what safety features your car has, and how to turn them on or off. Make sure you understand both the benefits of the feature and its limitations.
You shouldn’t lean too heavily on the safety features, but using them properly could reduce your risk of accidents, according to the NHTSA.
Take Frequent Breaks
Remember that no matter how advanced the safety features, they are only intended as supports for careful and safe driving. They don’t replace you being attentive to the road and to other cars. In order to be attentive, you need to take frequent breaks while driving.
Count on stopping every couple of hours for a short break. Get out of the car, stretch, and get something to eat and/or drink. A little bit of vigorous physical activity can do wonders for your alertness level.
Divide the Driving Duty and/or Limit Your Hours Driving
No matter how many times you take a break, at a certain point your body is done and needs to stop driving for the day. For this reason, you should only put in so many hours on the road each day. If you want to go more miles each day, you will need to divide the driving duty between drivers.
But use caution: you can’t really count on driving twice as long if you have two drivers. Most people have a natural biorhythm that makes it impossible to stay awake and alert all night. Even with two drivers, you need to count on stopping overnight if you want to minimize your accident risk.
Delegate Duties
Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of accidents on summer road trips (after drowsy driving). Try to minimize distractions by delegating some of the other duties in the car to the person who isn’t driving. Let them handle the radio, the climate control, navigation, food, and other things that need to be done. As the driver, you should put your full focus on driving.
Pull Over for Navigation
This is especially true if you’re driving alone, but a good idea even if you have someone else navigating. The speed at which you must sometimes change lanes leads to pressure that often causes miscommunication. You take that out of the equation when you pull over and go over navigation with the car safely out of traffic.
Take Advantage of Overlooks
You’re taking a road trip to see more of this wonderful country of ours, so it’s understandable that you might want to gawk at all the beautiful scenery, especially when others in the car are raving about them. You can take a quick glance out the window at the scenery, but if you really want to see it, take the time to pull over and get a good look. Otherwise, you risk having your eyes off the road for too long, which can lead to accidents.
Use a Spotter for Backing in or out
One type of accident that often needs collision repair is backing into an obstacle or another car. You can reduce this risk by utilizing a spotter.
This is a good idea even if you’re accustomed to backing up all the time. You’re in an unfamiliar place, and your vehicle may be packed high with luggage for the road trip. Maybe you’re even towing a trailer. A spotter can tell you about obstacles you might not have noticed or just can’t see from your seat. Backup cameras definitely help these days, but they don’t see everything.
Choose Accurate Auto Body for Your Collision Repair
Even if you’re the most careful driver you can be on a summer road trip, accidents happen. When this occurs, you want to find an auto body shop capable of giving you the repairs you need, on time and on budget.
This is an essential part of our Focus on You Service™ system. We will give you a good estimate of the time and cost of your repairs and get them completed on time and on budget. We also work around your schedule to minimize the disruption in your life. Our mechanics are I-CAR Gold Class certified, with training from Toyota and Honda, so we’re qualified to handle your repairs, including repairs of delicate safety systems.
To get a free estimate on your collision repair, please call 303-344-2212 or use our online contact form to set up an appointment with Accurate Auto Body. We serve individuals in Denver, Aurora and throughout the surrounding areas of Colorado.
