Summer vacation for many people involves travelling, either for a day-trip to a destination in the province, or for a longer trip across the country to visit relatives, friends or just to see the sights in Canada or the United States.
With so many people driving on the highways, the need for travelling safety is all the more important, to ensure that you and your family not only make your destination safely, but also make it home again once vacation time is over.
Highway driving can be a challenge at the best of times, with so many factors figuring into a trip, such as the weather at a given location, the condition of one’s vehicle or the road, and unpredictable conditions like the other drivers on the road.
For yourself as the driver, factors like how alert or tired you are will affect your driving, not to mention what distractions there might be from the weather, the traffic or other passengers in your vehicle.
With so many factors to be alert to, it’s impossible to suggest just one way to handle it all and drive safely — but there are factors within a driver’s control, and those have a huge bearing on how safely your trip will go.
A basic factor is seatbelt usage. Some people may consider this a “no-brainer”, because it’s very basic, but the fact is not wearing a seatbelt accounts for 27 per cent of all vehicle occupant deaths, and in a rollover situation, if you or a passenger are not wearing a seatbelt, there is a 70 per cent chance of being killed by being ejected from the vehicle.
The No. 1 contributing factor towards fatalities on our roads and highways is drinking alcohol. In 2015, the most recent year that statistics are available, alcohol was involved in 23 per cent of all fatal collisions, followed by distracted driving and by speed. Distracted drivers are those who are not paying attention, or are busy using a cell phone or other device, or otherwise being distracted from keeping your eyes on the road.
All three of these top factors are within the control of the driver, as he or she chooses to get behind the wheel after drinking, and chooses to text while driving, and chooses to drive too fast for the road conditions or to go over the speed limit.
If you choose not to be impaired by alcohol or a drug, and keep your attention on the traffic conditions, other drivers and watch for wildlife, and keep your speed to a reasonable level, then you have a reasonable chance that you will “bring ‘em back alive” this summer. — Greg Nikkel
