Well, hasn’t the weather been amazing this weekend! The clocks also sprung forward so Spring is definitely in the air it would seem. Although the temperature has now significantly dropped and we’ve had some snow flurries so perhaps not!
We are all likely to begin to get out and about a bit more either for work or with family and friends. With that in mind, have you thought about your personal safety while driving?
I have recently started delivering face to face training sessions again after a couple of years on Zoom. Due to the sometimes early starts, this sometimes involves me going to stay somewhere the night before.
Last week, I set off in early evening hoping to avoid one of the recent storms. I was low on fuel but decided to wait to fill up as I just wanted to get on the road as it was already raining heavily.
After being on the road for a while and getting very engrossed in my audiobook, the red fuel warning light came on. By this time, I was on country roads trying to find my B and B. With so few rural petrol stations still open now I decided to detour to the nearest small town and find a Tesco or Asda which thankfully turned out to be not too far away.
This little incident just brought home to me how complacent you can become. I should have ensured my car was fit for the journey before I travelled. I also used to carry an emergency pack in the boot which I needed to use on several occasions – warning triangle, fluorescent vest, bottle of water, warm coat and biscuits. This had somehow disappeared during the COVID break.
Here is a little checklist that it’s great to carry out before any car journey you have to make, especially if you are a lone traveller:
- Do your checks – I like to use the acronym FLOWERS – Fuel, Lights, Oil, Water, Electrics, Rubber (Tyres) and S for servicing. It’s essential to make sure the car is regularly serviced in line with your cars manual.
- Always put bags/laptop in boot before setting off.
- Don’t have your handbag on the seat in view. It’s way too tempting to thieves and can make you vulnerable to theft while stopping at traffic lights.
- Always keep a spare charger in the car for your phone.
- If you are a member of a breakdown organisation, make sure their breakdown number is available both in your phone and in your vehicle.
- Using a sat nav is great and can save a lot of time but always check your route before leavingand have a backup map in the car just in case of road closures or diversions.
It’s common sense to sort your car out for any journey. We all know we should, we just don’t always do it. Try to get into the habit of conducting these checks every time and remember, don’t forget to replenish those chocolate hobnobs in your emergency pack, you might need them one day!
If you have any tips that I’ve missed out please do leave them as a comment below.