Road safety is incredibly important when you have children in your car. Most parents want to make sure that their little ones are as safe as possible, working extremely hard to improve their driving skills and the state of their car. Of course, though, the small jobs that you do to keep your driving safe on short journeys will never compare to the work that comes with longer ones. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the best ways to ensure that your family is completely safe on any long journey.
Drive Time
The amount of time you spend behind the wheel is a major factor when it comes to road safety. In fact, trucking and haulage companies work extremely hard to make sure that drivers hours are kept at safe levels, and this is something you should also do when you’re driving. Swapping with your partner so that they can drive for certain parts of the journey can make this much easier, giving you the chance to avoid becoming drowsy as you move. It can be all too easy to fall into the trap of ignoring your safety when you’ve been driving for too long.
In-Car Distractions
Having the whole family in the car is lovely, giving you all the chance to chat, sing, and play games. Alongside this, though, it can also be quite distracting, especially if the little ones are watching television in the back. Fast-paced music can help to keep you awake, but things like dialogue will make it very hard to concentrate fully on the road, and this makes it worth giving your little one headphones if they want to consume content like this. Alongside this, you should also be prepared to stop the car and give everyone a breather if the kids start to argue or act out.
Car Maintenance
Long journeys can put a tremendous amount of strain on a car. While these machines are built to last, certain components and consumables need to be checked regularly when you are on long trips. Tyres, oil, and lights are all crucial in this process, and it will be essential that they are working correctly if you are going to consider your car safe. It can be worth taking your car to be serviced if you are about to go on a long car journey, ensuring that any little problems are solved before you hit the road. Poor car maintenance often causes accidents, but it can also force police to take you off the road until the issues are fixed.
Road safety is always improving in the modern world, with more and more tools and products hitting the market that can take this issue out of human hands. In the future, it’s likely that most vehicles will drive themselves, and this is sure to make it much easier for normal people to enjoy enhanced road safety. Until then, you will need to work hard to keep your loved ones safe.
Therese has completed the ‘Advanced Child Car Seat Training Course’ at TRL (Transport Research Lab) and is a CPD accredited car seat expert. She blogs about in-car safety, car seats, tips, reviews, giveaways and advice. She’s a mum on a mission to change the law and raise awareness. She is also a breastfeeding advocate and gentle parenting promoter who loves cloth nappies, baby-wearing, BLW and co-sleeping/bed-sharing.