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What Safety Driving Tips Should I Follow on Easter Weekend?

Delaware Car Accident Lawyers at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. Help Those Injured in Easter-Related Collisions.

Easter is a very popular holiday in Delaware and the rest of the nation. It always falls on a Sunday, which means many people have the day off of work.

Easter Sunday arrives on April 17 and includes many festivities, for those who observe this religious holiday. From church-going to Easter egg hunts and family gatherings, many people will be on the road. Some Easter travel might just be around town. But many people travel significant distances to celebrate with family.

If you are making plans to travel this Easter, you might wonder how to stay safe on the roads during the holiday weekend. Here are some useful tips that will help you to do that.

Plan Your Trip Before Leaving

You do not want to over-schedule Easter weekend. If you have a lot of activities planned, you just might be expecting too much of yourself. This is especially true if you plan to enjoy alcoholic drinks or other intoxicating substances during the holiday weekend.

If you do try to accomplish too much over the weekend, you run the risk of tiring out. A tired driver is a potentially dangerous driver. It helps to plan your weekend with breaks allowing for rest and some time-flexibility.

The planning should include the route you will take if you are traveling far. You should include some rest breaks that will help you to keep focused on the road while driving. It also can help to build in plenty enough time to allow for delays in getting to the destination.

Prepare Your Vehicle for Safe Travel

Whether you travel alone or with the entire family, you should prepare your vehicle for safe travels. A few of the most important tasks for preparing your vehicle for a road trip:

  • Brake inspection: You want the brakes to respond appropriately when you need to use them.
  • Wheel balance and rotation: Making sure your tires have adequate pressure, and the wear and tear of the batteries can be minimized by rotation; also help the car respond appropriately when the driver needs to use the brakes. This also prevents tire blowouts, which are likely to cause car accidents.
  • Battery inspection: If you have an aging battery, have it inspected and replace it if needed.
  • Oil and filter change: Along with an air filter inspection and change, will help you to make sure the engine is running well.
  • Lights: Running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and headlights – all need to be in working order. This allows other drivers to see your car and prevents you from getting a citation by police for not having working lights.
  • Wiper fluid: Wiper fluids should be topped off and wiper blades need to be changed so you can see clearly while driving.

Prepare Yourself and Passengers for Travel

We all know that staying alert and focused while driving is necessary to avoid accidents. There are steps you need to take for yourself and others who will be traveling with you for the holiday to ensure the trip is a safe and healthy one for all:

  • Get a good night’s sleep before you begin Easter weekend and during the weekend, as you have to make the trek home again on Sunday evening or early Sunday morning.
  • Avoid consuming alcohol and other intoxicating substances. Intoxicated drivers make mistakes, react slowly to changes in the road and make accidents far more likely. It is also illegal to drive intoxicated.
  • Since many celebrations end by the late afternoon on Easter Sunday, if you have a long drive back, you might consider staying over Sunday night and driving home early Monday for work and school.

Install Child Safety Seats Properly

Serious injuries and death are far more likely from an improperly installed child safety seat. It is important to read the instructions included with the safety seat and install it accordingly.

Seat belts and child safety seats protect people in the vehicle from many of the injuries that are common in accidents.

Put the Cellphone Away

This can go a long way toward minimizing distractions while driving. Avoiding distractions while driving goes a long way toward keeping everyone in the car safe. Have your route planned out ahead, so you do not need to check your phone for directions.

Save the Eating and Drinking for Rest Stops

People spill food or drinks while driving and wind up not focused on the road, but the spill or the stain it made on clothing. The better choice is to set aside time for eating and do not it while you are driving.

Speed Kills

Speed is the single greatest factor in causing accidents, injuries, and deaths while driving. Knowing this, do your best to abide by the speed limits and maintain a safe following distance.

Driving at the speed of traffic in good weather is the best way to ensure you are keeping a safe distance. That will help to prevent your vehicle from overtaking traffic or causing traffic to stack up behind you.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says speeding accounts for about one-third of all road-going fatalities in the United States. The NHTSA says speeding could cause you to lose control of your vehicle and reduce the effectiveness of safety features that are built into many newer cars.

A springtime rainstorm or even a snowstorm might strike while you are driving. If so, you should adjust your speed and increase the following distance in poor weather.

Fog greatly impacts visibility and makes it harder to distinguish between brake lights and taillights on the vehicles in front of you. It might even be a good idea to stop and wait for the fog to lift.

Be on the Lookout for Pedestrians

Easter often means Easter egg hunts and outdoor gatherings. If you have children, you might take them to one or more Easter egg hunts.

The potential for young children running into neighborhood roadways is much greater during holiday celebrations, and at Easter, they may be running off all the sugar of the candies in those plastic eggs.

Keep in mind that with warmer weather, more pedestrians will be out on the road as well. A recent NHTSA study shows that pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans are especially dangerous for pedestrians when turning. The vehicles often have larger blind spots than automobiles, which makes it harder to see pedestrians when turning.

Delaware Car Accident Lawyers at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. Help Those Injured in Easter-Related Collisions

Your best efforts to drive safely will help to prevent you from causing an accident on Easter weekend. However, if you are involved in a crash, call our experienced Delaware car accident lawyers at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. Located in Wilmington and Millsboro, Delaware, we serve clients throughout Dover, New Castle County, and Sussex County. Call us at 302-656-5445 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.