Thanksgiving Driving Tips! Tips for traveling by car on Thanksgiving 2018

 

In the first of three Thanksgiving-related Travel Tips, we’re going to tell you the best tips for driving this Thanksgiving season. Make sure you follow them, and you’ll be in the fast lane to your destination in no time.

Before you leave!

  Check your fluids and signal lights

Nothing could be worse than getting in the car for a thanksgiving road trip and realizing you haven’t changed your oil since last Thanksgiving. Making sure your car is in tiptop shape before taking it out on the road is essential, since if anything goes wrong, your car is where you’re going to ride it out. Top off the gas tank, replace the oil, and check your tire pressure all well before you leave. Additionally, make sure you check that your headlights aren’t out and you don’t have a blown taillight or turn signal. Not only will they help you to drive safely, nobody wants to get a ticket because their turn signal is out.

Map out your route

You might think it’s a good idea to leave at 4AM, but does that have you end up driving through a city during rush hour? Planning your trip ahead of time, making sure you know what time you’ll pass by major cities, is absolutely recommended. That way, you can either find a detour around that rush hour traffic or decide to leave at a different time. Thanksgiving traffic is bad enough as it is, especially on the Wednesday before and the Saturday after, you don’t need to add people trying to get home from work to the mix.

Check the weather

And don’t just check it at your destination! Traveling from north to south can have you moving through several different climate zones, so while your destination may be a balmy 60 degrees, you might have to drive through a snowstorm to get there. If you know what weather you may encounter, then you’ll always be prepared with a snow jacket and blankets just in case.

 

The day you leave!

Pack smart

Just like traveling by air, make sure you’re only packing what you need for the trip. Lugging around extra weight is only going to make both you and your car unhappy, so avoid it if you can. That said, make sure you have plenty of distractions if you’re traveling with kids. Handheld videogames, movies, books, and just about everything else to avoid the dreaded “Are we there yet?”

Recheck traffic and weather

These things can change, believe it or not! The weather forecast you checked at the beginning of the week can be totally different two days on, and you don’t want something unexpected cropping up. A quick survey should be fine to make sure you know what’s ahead of you.

Do a car check

Do a quick walk around your car and check all the essentials you checked before. Do I have a brake light out? Do my hazards work? There isn’t much you can do if one of them is out, but at least you know and can drive accordingly.

Do a house check

A quick check to make sure you’ve turned everything off and the house is locked up can’t be skipped.

Buckle Up

On long car trips, everyone gets tired of the seatbelt. That said, keeping it buckled should be your first priority. Pets should be buckled in through their harness and child seats should be properly installed (almost 30% aren’t). If something happens, its going to be the seatbelt that saves your life, not the phone or book that you unbuckled the seatbelt to get!

Once you’ve done this last check, its time to get on the road! Next week we’re going to be tackling Thanksgiving Airport tips, so make sure that you come back and check it out!

Travel Makers