Triple-A officials say the roads
during the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend can be especially crowded with vacation
bound travelers, leading to possible increases in crashes and breakdowns. AAA
Mid-Atlantic offers several road safety tips this holiday season:
- Keep your doors locked, safety belts buckled and children safe and secure in properly installed safety seats.
- Don’t let your gas tank fall below 1/3 tank.
- Stay on main roads and highways.
- Pack a flashlight, blanket and first-aid kit as well as emergency flares or reflective triangles should you break down.
- If you are going on a long trip, pack an emergency ration kit of water and nonperishable food items such as fruit or granola bars.
- Carry a cell phone in case of emergencies.
If You Break Down
- Move your vehicle off the road safely away from traffic.
- Stay inside your vehicle, and make all passengers stay inside, too. Keep doors locked.
- If you can’t move your vehicle off the road, ask all passengers to exit the vehicle when it is safe to do so, and stand away from traffic.
- If you must walk to a phone, keep your group together.
- Raise the vehicle’s hood, put a white cloth draped from the car window or tied to the door handle, or use reflective triangles or flares. Warning devices should be placed far enough away from the vehicle to give oncoming traffic time to react. A good rule of thumb: 3 devices at 100, 50, and 25 yards from the vehicle – or 300, 200, or 100 feet.
- Only roll down the window enough to ask any passersby to call police.
