FLHSMV’s Road Trip Checklist And Safety Tips

Road trips are fun and excellent ways of bringing families closer, but the bad news is that apart from road trips being fun and an excellent way for families to bond, a road trip exposes you to many dangers. However, the good news is that you can minimize risks with the help of a road trip checklist and some road trip safety tips. Before you set off on a trip, there are several things you need to do to ensure a safe and successful journey. The FLHSMV has some tips on what you should do before your road trip and even during your road trip to avoid an inconvenient breakdown or, worse, an accident. The FLHSMV advises, among other things, the following:

A Month Before a Road Trip:

• Check your car for recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls, and have any necessary repairs completed.
• Register your emergency contact information (ECI) at flhsmv.gov/eci. Suppose you are involved in a crash and can’t talk, your family or friends can be notified through the ECI you register with FLHSMV.

Fourteen Days Before a Road Trip:

• Perform scheduled maintenance on your vehicle, including an oil change, and make sure your brakes are in proper working condition.
• Repair or replace any headlights that are not in good working condition and replace worn-out wipers.
• Check that turn signals and brake lights are working well.
• Inspect tires and replace them if necessary. The FLHSMV advises that you schedule an appointment to have your tires balanced, aligned, and rotated even if they are in good shape. Also, it would be best if you inspected your spare tire.

Seven Days Before a Road Trip:

• Confirm whether your battery is maintaining a full charge.
• Ensure you have jumper cables, necessary equipment to replace a tire, and/or your roadside service agreement is up-to-date.

The Day Before a Road Trip:

• Check your vehicle’s fluids.
• Ensure you have your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and registration.
• Check tire pressure, including your spare tire’s pressure.
• Ensure that whatever you pack does not exceed the maximum weight load for your tires.

On the Day of the Road Trip:

• Make sure all your passengers wear seat belts at all times. If you are traveling with children, ensure they are in proper child restraint seats at all times.
• Remain aware of changing speed limits.
• Note down important phone numbers and keep them in your car in case your phone battery dies and you don’t have any means of charging it.
• Avoid drowsy driving.
• If you need to stop during your trip, stop in a safe place, out of the roadway and away from traffic.
• Eliminate distraction. While driving, you should always keep your eyes on the road, your mind on driving, and your hands on the steering wheel.

Contact Us for Legal Help

If, after all your efforts to stay safe, you get injured in a crash because of another party’s negligence, call a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney at The Pendas Law Firm to get legal help. We can help you hold an at-fault party or at-fault parties accountable and obtain maximum compensation.

The Pendas Law Firm also represents clients in the Miami, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, Bradenton, Jacksonville, Tampa, Ocala, and Orlando areas.