The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and for many families, that means travel. Whether you’re planning a road trip to spend the holidays with loved ones or simply dreaming of an end-of-the-year vacation, we encourage you to take a few simple steps to ensure safe, smooth travel.
As you prepare to hit the road, keep this checklist handy.
4 Tips for Preparing for Holiday Travel
Schedule maintenance in our service center
The last thing you want is to head off for a holiday road trip and realize that there’s something awry with your engine, or to discover that you’re overdue for tire replacement or an oil change. Before you head out on your trip, make a service appointment to have the car inspected and cleared for travel.
And if you do need something like an oil change, have it done now to minimize the risk of car trouble over the holidays.
Prepare an emergency kit
We would also recommend stockpiling your car with a few essentials, including a spare tire, jumper cables, reflective triangles or flares, a flashlight, extra batteries, and some basic first aid items. You might also want to keep an emergency bottle of water and protein bar handy, just in case.
Know where you’re going
In the age of Google Maps, it’s tempting to just set your GPS coordinates and hit the road. There’s some merit to reviewing the route in advance and knowing what alternate paths you can take should you run into major traffic or construction delays, though.
Ensure safe driving conditions
If at all possible, plan your trip so that you don’t have to drive when it’s dark out, minimizing your risk of drowsiness. Plan to stop at least every three hours to walk around and let your blood circulate. And make sure you aren’t tempted to fiddle with your mobile device while you’re behind the wheel. Task a passenger with changing your playlists or altering the GPS as needed.
Plan for Holiday Travel Safety Around Wilmington, NC
Start planning now for safe holiday travels. If you have any questions about your vehicle service needs, reach out to Matthews Motors Wilmington directly.
