Driving home safety tips
AS WE DESCEND INTO THE CHRISTMAS RUSH AND CARS ARE PACKED FOR ROAD TRIPS, A LITTLE BIT OF THOUGHT NOW CAN PREVENT A FESTIVE DISASTER, WRITES LAUREN PRATT
This Christmas, the Queensland Police Service wants to prevent you from becoming a victim of theft or a statistic on the road. With only seven sleeps to go until the big day, Sergeant Cary Coolican of Cairns Police said Christmas shoppers needed to pay attention to their surroundings. “Don’t leave valuables such as your wallet, handbag, phone, car keys and Christmas gifts unattended in shopping trolleys or vehicles,” she said.
THIS Christmas, the Queensland Police Service wants to prevent you from becoming a victim of theft or a statistic on the road.
With only seven sleeps to go until the big day, Sergeant Cary Coolican of Cairns Police said Christmas shoppers needed to pay attention to their surroundings.
“Don’t leave valuables such as your wallet, handbag, phone, car keys and Christmas gifts unattended in shopping trolleys or vehicles,” she said.
“Avoid leaving Christmas gifts under the Christmas tree too early as your kids will snoop and those well-wrapped gifts could be regifted to opportunistic thieves taking advantage of your generosity.
“Ensure you lock and secure windows and doors, and hide those car keys.
“Do us all a favour, stay on the nice list. Don’t drink to excess, play nice with family and friends and don’t run the gauntlet on Christmas Day after a few drinks.”
Sgt Coolican said police would be patrolling roads during the festive period and warned drivers to pay attention in order to get to destinations safely.
Those heading out for longer road trips have been reminded to prepare prior to hitting the bitumen.
Leon Saliba, co-founder, Sparesbox.com.au – Australia’s largest online auto parts store – said there was nothing worse than when the car broke down on a road trip due to lack of preparation.
“Many drivers unfortunately don’t understand why it’s so crucial to prepare their car for a long driving holiday,” he said.
“A little bit of understanding will make them think twice about overlooking the basics that could potentially ruin a holiday or have you broken down on a freeway with crying kids in the back seat.”
Here are Mr Saliba’s pretrip road checks:
TYRE CHECKS
Aside from being unsafe, if your tyre pressure isn’t correct it’ll also hit you in the hip pocket. Low tyre pressure creates more friction on the road resulting in more fuel consumption. On a long road trip, this means more money spent at the petrol station. Aim to check your tyre pressure when your tyres are cold as the reading is less accurate when they’re hot from driving. A good time to check your tyres is first thing in the morning at a petrol station close to your home.
WIPER CHECK
Window wipers are easily sundamaged and if they haven’t been used in a while it’s easy to forget to check them. But having your vision impaired by a smudged windscreen and realising how dangerous it can be to drive without good vision of the road isn’t ideal on long road trips. Avoid the danger by changing your wipers before you head off and topping up your washer fluid.
ENGINE OIL
Optimal running of your car’s engine relies on maintaining the correct fluid levels. In the same way as you go to the dentist annually but brush your teeth daily, you should expect to service your car annually and top-up your engine oil regularly – think of it like brushing your teeth. Low engine oil levels put stress and wear and tear on the engine.
BRAKES
Even the least savvy driver knows brakes are important for obvious safety reasons and you can tell immediately if they’re working or not. What you might not know is that brakes use a hydraulic system which requires fluid to keep them working. Due to different environmental factors, with constant use, and the passage of time, brake fluid levels decrease. As every person uses their car for different periods, it’s worth checking to see the last time your brake fluid was changed before going on a long trip.
“Every driver should make these checks to ensure optimum safety before their summer road trip and also to save money,” Mr Saliba said.