Newstricky| Traveling is not limited to international flights and far away destinations. The global pandemic had brought popularity to national tourism, resulting in turning an old-fashioned road trip into a perfect family adventure. There is still the option of using buses or going to one location or making many interesting stops along the way. If you are still choosing to travel abroad be thorough while preparing. This short article can be a universal checklist for traveling safety tips.
Table of Contents
Car preparation
Your vehicle has to be in the best shape before you hit the road. Scheduling regular maintenance for your vehicle will help prevent breakdowns and any issues. You yourself should prepare your car for a roadside emergency, especially the basics like a spare tire, oil, and antifreeze. The obligatory tune-up should consist of: tire pressure, wiper blades, fluid levels, lights, and air conditioning maintenance. A good car washing is also a good idea, especially cleaning the inside of the vehicle.
Family travel insurance
Even with all the precautions, the case of disease can still happen. It can be something like a motion sickness from a lot of the time spent inside the vehicle and some poorer snack choices, but consequential dehydration could also require medical attention. The existing life or health insurance that you have might not cover traveling and probably the insurance for your family. Consider getting travel insurance and enjoy your vacation with the best backup.
Traveling first aid kit is not the first aid kit from your car
If you are traveling by your own vehicle, you already have the first-aid kit in your car. This kit is not always enough, especially if you are traveling with children. That is why the following checklist should be a must as an additional traveling first aid kit:
- Band-Aids;
- Blister plasters, the hydrocolloid type will also take care of pimples and soothe rashes;
- Scissors;
- Tweezers;
- Antihistamine cream;
- Diarrhoea tablets;
- Thermometer;
- Pain relief medications; and
- Antiseptic wipes.
The key point here is that child’s needs can be a lot different from the adult’s. Their fast metabolisms process sickness quickly, but that still doesn’t mean you need to run around a new town looking for a doctor.
An emergency requires a different emergency number
Wherever you go you have an emergency number list. The emergency contact from back home, the local hospital, and the police. There is, however, a contact you should consider having with you all the time – a mobile locksmith. This contact is for on the road and back home equally. If you stay locked out, you can call and ask for their service. Breaking keys, system malfunction, missing keys, emergencies that require house doors, or even car locks opened can be easily solved.
Prepare for roadside emergencies
Apart from the mentioned first aid kits, you should also have a road emergency kit. These contain a tire repair kit that comes with a compact air compressor for re-inflating a flat, a multifunctional shovel and blade, a tow rope, a hammer, a multi-tool, a bright yellow emergency traffic vest, a rain poncho, work gloves, included jumper cables, and many more, depending on the road you’re taking. Try to check if you or someone in the car knows how to repair a tire, install jumper cables so that you don’t have to do it yourself in case the need arises.
Backpack system
The backpack system is a great alternative to big unpacking and packing again each morning if you are making multiple stops. By having a backpack with essentials for each member of the road crew, you are saving time and your (as well as someone else’s) nerves. These backpacks help with staying near the car unguarded for too long, and it helps the kids to learn to be more independent. The backpack should contain toiletries, pyjamas, clothes for the next day, chargers, and personal valuables.
Water, snacks, activities
While your attention is on the road, map, and plan for that day, your kids will get bored pretty quickly. No matter how much they love their electronic devices, they will still ask for your attention. To prepare for these mostly unnecessary questions, pack up enough water, a good variety of snacks, and some games to additionally pass the time. Those can be the games you know they like and are using, or they can be something new. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on these, just go with the flow: if they like colouring books, buy a few new ones, and if they like reading, prepare a few books from their favorite author.
Safety resources for your trunk
There were many kits and backpacks mentioned in this article. But where should you store all of those? The essentials are supposed to be with you, in the front of the car, while the trunk is a space reserved for luggage and most of these kits. Water bottles, snacks, the documents are supposed to be readily available to all of the members at any time. A road trip doesn’t have to be complicated, make checklists that will be read while packing and enjoy the activities safely!
