Tips for stress-free holiday driving
Rob Maetzig has 10 ways to make journeys more relaxing.
Holiday motoring can be so much fun – not. Picture this: It’s just before Christmas, you’re tired and stressed from having to pack a huge amount of material into your car, maybe you’ve had a bit of a tiff with your partner, and now you are going to pile your family into the vehicle and head off on a drive of several hundred kilometres to your holiday destination.
It’s not the ideal preparation for a journey at a time that is also likely to encounter heavy holiday traffic, is it? So here are 10 tips to keep your holiday motoring safer and more stress-free:
Make sure your vehicle is ready for the journey
During the days immediately before your holiday drive, check the tyres, check the oil and water, check the windscreen washing fluid, and fill the vehicle with fuel. The pre-journey check applies to a trailer too, if you intend towing one. That means that on the day of your journey, once you get going you can keep going – and not have to call in at the closest service station.
Load up your vehicle the night before
A sure-fire way of getting stress levels to rise is to load up the family car on the day of the family journey. You’ll be wondering how on earth you can fit all that cargo into a single vehicle. It might even result in an argument, and driving in an angry state and with an equally angry partner beside you is certainly not the way to begin a family holiday.
Far better to load the vehicle the night before. That also applies to such actions as pre-selecting the best music to listen to, and getting snacks and drinks ready for the trip.
Put an extra cellphone charger in your glovebox
These days we can’t do without our cellphones, can we? But it’s very easy for you – or somebody else – to leave the phone’s charger at home. You might be surprised how popular you will be if you travel with a spare one.
Don’t drive on an argument
If you have a disagreement, try to sort things out before you depart. Not only will being angry distract you during your driving, but it will distract your kids too – and those are all the ingredients for an awful journey.
Arguments can develop due to tiredness. So try to get a good night’s sleep beforehand, have a decent breakfast, and wear comfortable clothes. And don’t forget to take some water.
Don’t be a back-seat driver
This advice obviously applies to passengers. The person behind the wheel will be trying to concentrate on driving, and a constant barrage of advice and/or criticism can become very annoying. So zip your lips, huh? Of course if a driver’s standard of driving is scaring you, then you have every right to intervene.
On the road, take it easy
Some bright spark once said that you will get there when you get there – no sooner, no later.
Good point that. So remember to drive at the right speed for the conditions (which may be slower than 100kmh due to weather and/ or road conditions), drive defensively by letting faster vehicles past, and keep a good following distance from the vehicle in front so you can have time to safely react if someone else makes a mistake.
If somebody wants to stop, then stop
One of the best ways to create some aggravation inside the vehicle is to not stop when someone aboard wants you to. It may be that the passenger really, really wants to go to the toilet, or is feeling a little carsick, or simply wants to get some fresh air. So please be co-operative and pull over for a while – at a safe place, of course, not just on the side of the road.
In fact whenever you are approaching a well-known roadside stop with good, clean toilets, it is a good idea to offer to pull over so everyone can have a comfort break.
Why not take a break yourself?
It’s commonly known that a major cause of crashes is tiredness. So if you can, pull over and take a break every couple of hours or so. You might like to stop at a cafe to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, and its also a good idea to stretch your legs by walking around for a while. There are plenty of nice places to do that along New Zealand’s highway network.
And if you are feeling really tired, if possible share the driving with somebody else travelling in your vehicle.
If you are driving a long distance, it is easy to save fuel
Smoothly does it – you can conserve petrol by looking ahead, anticipating what is going to happen, and minimising heavy braking and acceleration. Driving that way makes the journey more comfortable for your passengers, too.
And here’s a handy hint. Once your fuel gauge gets down to quarter-full, refuel at the next service station.
That gets rid of any stress over whether you might run out of fuel before you get to your destination.
Finally, when you get to your destination, have a beer
You’ve got there safe and sound, so you deserve a beer, or a wine, or a G&T.
After all, it is holidays!
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