Essential Winter Road Trip Tips To Keep The Whole Family Safe & Happy
Whether you are heading to see friends and relatives over the festive period or plan on exploring a corner of your country that you’ve never seen, winter road trips are common. However, because of the often challenging weather and lower temperatures in the winter, making sure you are well-prepared for a safe trip is essential, in addition to your usual trip preparation. The good news is you can read all about how to prepare for your winter road trip in the post below. Just keep reading to find out more.
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Make sure your vehicle is in top condition before your trip
The Birmingham you need to do before leaving on your Winter road trip is check over your car. It will be even better to take it to your local car repair shop and have them do a performance check so you can be 100% sure that your vehicle will be in tip-top shape no matter what wintery conditions you encounter. The best car repair shops often offer free performance checks as well, so you won’t need to break the bank to ensure you and your passengers are safe on your winter road trip.
Check the weather before you travel
You’d be surprised at how many people don’t check the weather or the route that they will be taking before they travel. Unfortunately, this can be incredibly dangerous when Road tripping in the winter because more surprises along the way can increase the chance of safety risks. For example, if you are unaware that heavy snow was predicted along your route, you may not fit chains to your tires that you will need and so increase your chances of getting stuck in the cold for an extended amount of time.
It’s a very good idea to carefully check the weather in and around the area through which you plan to travel. The good news is this is now fairly easy because you can check localized weather online for the whole of your route. Additionally, it’s a good idea to check whether there are any roadworks, delays, or closures along the route that you plan to take comma these can lastly increase your journey time and also add significant delays and the cold weather that you will want to avoid. One way to do this is to check the data that your GPS provides, as many will show up-to-date issues with roadworks, delays, accidents, and closures.
Leave plenty of time for the journey
Another crucial aspect of winter road-tripping is making sure you leave enough time to complete your journey safely. This often means adding more time for traveling than you would do at any other time of year. For example, if it usually takes you five hours to reach your destination in fair weather, you may need to double this for travel in ice or snow. Also, remember that driving in more difficult conditions is much more draining, so it’s best to aim to cover fewer miles every day than you normally would.
Pack the right things
When it comes to winter road trips, packing the right things will also be incredibly helpful and ensure you and your passengers stay as safe and comfortable for the entire journey as possible.
One of the most important things to make sure you pack in your vehicle is plenty of warm layers of clothing and blankets. These can then be layered over the top of one another to help everyone keep warm during the journey or if you get delayed because of the weather. In particular, making sure that each passenger has a warm hat and gloves can really help them keep their body temperature up even in the coldest of conditions.
You may also want to bring some of the small instant heat packs that are activated when you fold them. These are usually pretty cheap and come in rechargeable options that you need to boil once you have used them, as well as disposable options that can be incredibly welcome in an icy emergency.
It also makes sense to ensure that you have supplies such as food and water in case you get stuck in the snow. Food dense in calories and that will not freeze work well, so things like candy bars and protein bars are always a good idea. Flask of hot beverages such as coffee or tea and also be a welcome refreshment during a wintery road trip. However, do remember that if you bring cold water, you must be sure to keep it inside your vehicle; otherwise, it will freeze, and you won’t be able to drink it right away.
To make sure you can get yourself out of any sticky situations on the road, pack a shovel that can help you out of the snow drift, and an ice scraper so you’ll be able to see through your windshield and believe it or not cat litter. yeah that’s right, cat litter can help struggling tires get purchased on the road in honest and snowy conditions!
Make sure your wheels are ready for ice and snow
The cat litter trick mentioned above can be helpful in an icy pinch. It’s often much better and more reliable to make sure your tires are properly equipped for winter driving. First of all, this means checking them over and sharing that they have a healthy tread and are not overly worn as the more traction on the road, the better. Many people even choose to replace their tires with snow tires when they know they will be traveling in more challenging winter conditions.
Finally, it makes a lot of sense to have a set of chains fitted to your tires because these will ensure maximum traction in the snow and ice, making your journey much safer. Indeed if you plan to be covering any sort of challenging terrain at all, such as hills or steep roads, tire chains are crucial, so be sure to invest and fit them before you leave on your winter road trip.
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