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School holiday time is coming up again and many people will be heading to the ski-fields.
Not only will there be more bodies crammed into the car, but the traffic will almost double. Tensions will rise in the car with bored children and irritable parents. There's also a greater risk of road rage in heavy traffic on narrow roads.
Travelling with children can be challenging, especially if you don't take a few pre-planned precautions. A few ideas are listed below.
Planning
Involve every member of the family in the planning stage of the trip. Let everyone know the route and the places being travelled through and discuss the journey. If you think the trip is going to take five hours allow for six and a bit. With a decent time-buffer, if there is a hold-up, there's no need to panic about being late. The extra travel time also allows for unplanned stops and flexibility.
Breaks
Plan a few breaks during the journey. Don't try to complete the trip in one big hit - make it an adventure, get off the beaten track and go sightseeing. Make sure your planned excursions are near rest stops that have toilet facilities, and an area to move about in so everyone can stretch their legs. The only time you shouldn't stop is if young children have drifted off to sleep. Enjoy the peace and quiet and keep going.
Packing
Get the children to take a bag with some, not all, of their favourite toys, music or books. They will then be able to entertain themselves, and with more than one choice, should be able to chop and change without getting too bored. Take a coolbox or the like, full of drinks, snacks, sandwiches, fruit etc. But don't forget to take wipes to clean up any mess in the car. And most importantly don't put the coolbox in the boot, have it in the car so it's easily accessible.
Safety
Ensure children are correctly strapped in, whether it be a baby seat, booster seat or the car seat itself. Make sure everyone's comfortable and not surrounded by various bits of luggage or sports gear. If youngsters are in the back together, place anything they may share between them to avoid a fight over who can have what.
Entertainment
It's not always necessary to take a bundle of board games and electronic gizmos on an extended road trip. Some of the most popular travel games need little more than imagination or keen observation skills.
I-spy is a good old faithful one, where everyone takes a turn saying, "I spy something beginning with ... " The others have to guess what it is, with the winner becoming the next player.
A more entertaining visual challenge is to spot a licence plate and try to work out if it's a personalised plate with a message, either hidden or obvious, or a random collection of numbers and words. If the latter, try to make something up using the letters and numbers on the plate.
A long trip is the perfect opportunity to catch up on reading those books you've been meaning to read over the past few months.
Talking books, or books on tape, are a great way to entertain a car full of people and will avoid any motion sickness usually associated with reading in a moving car. It's not too difficult to find a story on tape that will appeal to all but the youngest travellers.
Many newer cars now have built-in DVD players - creating hours of movie entertainment for passengers. If your car doesn't have a DVD player fitted, consider taking a laptop computer that can play DVDs.
Lastly, consider the time stuck in the car with your family as time to get to know them, especially if you have children, because they are now a captive audience.
An added note though, for those heading to the snow, is prepare for driving in it.
Even if you own a 4WD it doesn't mean you can cheat the laws of physics. On a road with ice or snow use extreme caution, regardless of what you're driving.
Overconfidence can cause an accident. Braking, sharp turns and aggressive manoeuvres can be very dangerous - if a vehicle starts to slide, drivers tend to overcompensate and lose control.
Test the brakes for wheel-lock in a safe environment, knowing the limits can help the driver to make delicate manoeuvres in pressure situations.
The areas before intersections and corners tend to have slippery surfaces due to previous vehicle traffic.
Fitting chains is the safest option by far. Generally speaking, attaching to the front and rear tyres maintains vehicle control. Attaching chains to the rear tyres only can increase under-steer while attaching to the front tyres only can increase over-steer downhill.
It is a case-by-case decision, but generally it is recommended to use chains on all four tyres.
Finally, if you are going to drive regularly in snow and ice, consider a specialised training course, so you can practise safe driving techniques in a controlled environment.
