Every year, there are 38,000 fatalities and over four million injuries on the roads in the USA alone.
Despite these worrying statistics, many people are still driving with distractions. These distractions aren’t just in the form of mobile phones. They’re in the form of children!
Driving safety is important for anybody but especially parents. Children can be a huge distraction, whether they are crying in the backseat or messing with the buttons on the dashboard in the front seat.
Focusing on road safety is vital to protecting you and your children as much as possible while in the car. Although you can’t control what other drivers do on the roads, you’re in control of your own actions and reactions.
Here are some important driving safety tips for every mom and dad out there to keep your family safe while you’re all in the car.
Extend Your Warranty
When your warranty expires, you might be tempted not to renew it. But your warranty provides you with extra coverage that can make a huge difference to the safety of your vehicle.
Although extended warranties don’t cover general wear and tear expenses, they will cover the costs associated with mechanical or electrical damage to your car. This means you’ll be able to keep your vehicle in tip-top shape all year round without spending a fortune on repairs and replacements.
Keeping your car in optimal condition will reduce your risk of having an accident, so it’s often worth spending the money on the best car warranty you can find.
Don’t Drive While Tired
If you’ve got young children, you’re probably in a state of chronic sleep deprivation, so it’s often impossible not to drive while you’re tired. But wherever possible, try and avoid taking a road trip when you’ve had no sleep.
Driving while you’re tired or fatigued increases your chances of falling asleep or losing focus behind the wheel. This is a risk you won’t want to take when you’ve got the little ones in the car with you.
The term ‘microsleep’ describes falling asleep for just a few seconds while driving. This lapse in concentration of just a few seconds can make the difference between having a serious accident or avoiding one. In fact, microsleeps cause 16.5% of fatal car crashes in the US.
If you’ve had poor sleep and you are due to drive the kids somewhere, try and find an alternative method of transport or get your partner to drive. If you start to feel yourself dozing off along your journey, stop to take a break before heading back on the road.
Taking these precautions might feel unnecessary but it’s not worth taking any risks if you’re tired or fatigued.
Follow The Rules Of The Road
Whether you’re a parent or both, you should follow the rules of the road. But as a parent, you’re more likely to be driving around school zones where the speed limit is lower and the traffic easily gets congested.
No matter how frustrated you’re getting at being stuck in a long queue of other parents each morning, drive safely. Never speed through a school zone and always look out for young children who are near the road.