In summer to reach the coast or in winter to spend happy moments in the mountains, the car remains one of the preferred means of transport for many families going on holiday. This makes it easy to take with you the equipment you need and to move around as you wish once you get there. But to leave serenely, it is necessary to carry out some checks for the safety of all and to organize oneself well so that the journey is a pleasant one. Here are the good reflexes to adopt to take the road in the best possible conditions
Technical checks: a fundamental step
Using your car to go on holiday means first of all making all the necessary technical checks. You sometimes have to drive for many hours and the best way to leave serenely is to take a little trip to the garage so that a professional can do a small check-up of the car. It is necessary to have the elements that are essential to safety such as the brakes, lights or the battery checked and we think about having the oil, water and windshield washer fluid levels checked. This is also the time to pay particular attention to important elements such as the condition of the tires and not hesitate to have a timing belt replaced if it is damaged. Indeed, a broken timing belt can have disastrous consequences on the condition of the engine.
Time flies and you don't always have the reflex to regularly take your car to be checked outside the technical control imposed by the legislation. A car holiday is therefore the ideal time to check and reassure yourself
Pay attention when loading the car
With a car, you are often tempted to take as many things as you need with you as possible. Sometimes this can take up so much space in the car, not just the boot. It's important to moderate the loading of the car, the ideal being to take the time to properly organize the storage of suitcases, bags and other leisure items in the trunk. All too often, we've seen the slightest space between passengers in the back of the car, the back deck or the floor become places where objects are piled up. It's actually risky, and if you're traveling with a full load, it's best to use a trailer or a roof box. This prevents objects inside the car from turning into projectiles when braking and also ensures good visibility of the rear window.
It is not always known, but each vehicle has a GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), which corresponds to the maximum mass that a vehicle can hold. The GVWR has been defined by the car manufacturers for safety purposes and can be found on the car's registration certificate. In case of doubt about the load to be transported, it may be useful to weigh and compare, always with the aim of driving without taking any risks
Preparing your trip well
A car journey to your holiday destination is in preparation and the following few reflexes will add to the driving comfort. If the car is not equipped with an integrated GPS, and this is still the case on many cars, it is very useful to download applications on your smartphone to be able to define the best route and be accompanied on the road. Using your mobile phone as a GPS also means making sure you can charge it with a cigarette lighter charger, which can be found everywhere in the shops.
There should also be plenty of water and something to snack on. To eat, rest areas are preferable, because when driving, it is important not to get distracted and to stay concentrated.
Finally, it is necessary to think about what is needed to keep the children occupied. Board games, cards or even tactile tablets with brackets to be integrated on the back of the front seats, there are different ways to make the journey fun for the little ones, who will not see the time go by.
