How can I stay safe when driving this Christmas?
Millions of drivers are set to hit the roads during this year’s festive break as people travel across the country to celebrate with family and friends. In fact, the RAC estimates that 21 million leisure trips will take place between Monday, December 18 and Christmas Eve.
But with all of those extra vehicles on the road, what can you do to stay safe when you’re behind the wheel? Here, we go through some tips and tricks to bear in mind.
Complete some safety checks beforehand
Before you get your journey underway, it’s a good idea to do a few checks around your vehicle to make sure everything is as it should be. Go around your car’s tyres and look out for any bulges or cuts in the sidewalls and also ensure that they’re inflated to the correct pressures - you can find these in your vehicle’s handbook or behind the fuel filler door.
Check your fluids are correct - for elements such as oil, coolant and washer fluid - and test your lights to make sure they’re operating as they should be as well.
Give yourself extra time
As we’ve mentioned, there are going to be a lot of extra vehicles on the roads over the Christmas period and that means one thing - extra traffic. It’s why giving yourself extra time can make things a lot less stressful overall.
Make use of navigation apps and services to double-check how far you’ll be travelling, while a lot of these systems can even give you an estimate of peak times of traffic. But, as a failsafe, travel earlier in the morning or later at night if you really want to miss the worst of the traffic.
Leave extra space if the weather is bad
Christmas in the UK is rarely the postcard scene we’d like it to be and while most people dream of a white festive period, the reality is usually driving rain and cold. If you’re caught in heavier rain while you’re behind the wheel, make sure that you leave extra space from the car in front so that you’ve got additional time should they make an emergency stop.
Plus, make sure that your lights are on. A lot of modern cars feature automatic lights, but they can often struggle to work in dim conditions - such as during a rainstorm - so double-check that they’re on by manually switching them to dipped beams.
Make sure your presents are kept out of sight
For a lot of drivers, the Christmas journey is spent with presents in the back of the car. However, when you’re stopped this could be an easy win for opportunistic thieves. To stop this from happening, always make sure that any presents or luggage that you’ve got in the car are kept out of sight when you’re parked up.
The safest option is, of course, to take them out of the car when you can.
Don’t overload your car
It can be tempting to pack in as much as you can when you’re travelling over Christmas - particularly if you’re driving with a family aboard. However, driving with an overloaded vehicle poses a potential risk and could mean a fine, too.
Driving an overloaded vehicle can quickly affect a car’s stopping distances, while police will be on the lookout for any cars which look particularly low to the ground at the rear of the vehicle. So go easy on the luggage and make sure that you’re not overloading your car, even if that means leaving something behind.
Take care on the morning after
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A lot of people like a tipple during the festive period and while there’s nothing wrong with that, you need to make sure that you’re not getting behind the wheel while still under the influence.
If you’re in doubt about how you’re feeling the next morning, then don’t grab the keys under any circumstance. Make sure you’re back to normal before hopping behind the wheel.
