By Samuetta Hill Drew
In another century, the lyrics from a poem later turned into a song “Over the river and through the woods; to grandmother’s house we go; the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh…” transcended time and is often sung in school buildings across the country. The original song speaks to fond memories of the author’s family traveling to their grandmother’s home for Thanksgiving. Well, we’re not crossing the river, going through woods in a sleigh any longer traveling to our grandmother’s home for Thanksgiving but, we do continue the tradition of traveling over the Thanksgiving holidays. Our mode of transportation, thankfully, has been upgraded to cars, trucks and SUVs as we travel to family, friends and various sporting events during this season of the year. Traveling involves some pre-planning relative to housing, food, clothing and travel routes. This week we want to review a few vehicle safety tips which should be included in your pre-planning for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Tip One: Always check your tire pressure before traveling. The weather patterns change so often this time of year from regions within the state, as well as regions outside our state. As you know, the change of weather can alter the tire pressure often creating unsafe travel conditions, if not checked properly.
Tip Two: Make sure when traveling you maintain a reasonable amount of gasoline in your tank for two important reasons. Unfortunately many accidents occur over the holidays requiring a slow pace in the traffic flow or sometimes a detour off the main road. You do not want to be in a position where you are almost out of gasoline and become stranded on the side of the road. Note, cellular telephone and/or navigation systems receptions are not always available in some areas while traveling.
The second reason is that all gasoline stops are not located in a safe area especially for females traveling alone or with small children. Take advantage of filling up your gasoline tanks in well lighted businesses with a lot of
traffic, mainly in major cities or larger small towns. This decreases the risk of someone following you once you return to your travel route. DO NOT display a great deal of cash if you purchase items in the convenience store associated with the gasoline station nor leave your car doors unlocked or an opened purse on display, if you go into the store portion of the gasoline station.
Tip Three: Make sure you notify a friend and/or family member your travel plans and route. Contact these individuals when you begin your travel and when you arrive. You should also give them a description of the clothing you’re wearing or take a selfie and forward it to them before leaving especially if you’re traveling alone.
Unfortunately, following these or any other safety tips can never guarantee nothing adversely will happen to you or your love ones but, it does help to decrease the possibility by keeping an eye on safety.
