Top tips for staying safe on the road this Summer

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There's nothing quite like a great Aussie road trip under the summer sun! Many of us may have our own strong memories of cruising through the bush on our way to visit relatives living interstate or simply just for a change of scenery.

Despite Australia being such a phenomenal country for embarking on long-distance road trips, there are naturally some safety considerations that need to be made prior to planning any getaways during this coming holiday season.

The need for safety on the roads is increasingly important for this summer in particular as many Aussie states prepare to open their borders for interstate travellers following COVID-19 lockdowns.

Here are some top travel safety tips for families looking to hit the road during these summer holidays.

Although 'essential' may seem like a subjective term, there's no denying that there are some pieces of tech or equipment you should absolutely have in your car, not just during long trips, but ideally at all times.

For instance, it's always a good rule of thumb to have a dash camera installed in your car, not just for driving on rural highways but also for inner-city driving as well.

Dash cameras with built-in GPS functionality can be incredibly useful for providing concrete evidence in the event of a collision or when dealing with unruly or unsafe drivers.

Aussie motorways aren't known for being especially free from driver drama, so it's well worth having a high-definition dashcam installed in all of your family vehicles well before heading out on the open road.

Alongside a dashcam, it's also worth bringing a reliable car charger for mobile devices and some backup power banks just to ensure you can stay connected when on the road.

If you're travelling alone, a UHF radio may also come in handy if you happen to find yourself stuck in a region with minimal network connection or even get stranded in a thunderstorm that may impact mobile tower connections.

With many of us finding ourselves in and out of lockdowns over the past two years, chances are the figures on your odometer are significantly lower than you would've expected them to be at this point in time. You may not have been using your car for days or potentially even weeks at a time, meaning it's most likely due for maintenance.

Even minus the unique impacts of lockdowns, you generally should never embark on a long road trip without scheduling an appointment with your local mechanic anyway, just to ensure that your car is in sound condition for prolonged periods of driving.

Yes, there are some car care checks that you can do yourself, such as checking your fluid levels and checking your tyre pressure, but the health of your battery may be a concern due to the sporadic driving your car's experienced over the course of lockdowns. You'll want your car battery, as well as your brakes and headlights, assessed by your mechanic.

Whilst speeding and driver fatigue are some of the most common causes of highway road accidents in Australia, driving in bad weather has been known to play its own role in our nation's highway tragedies, primarily because delays caused by volatile weather conditions tend to lead to speeding.

Alongside this, drivers have been known to experience fatigue rapidly when driving through stormy weather or on slippery roads, simply because of the increased focus and concentration that's needed to safely navigate through these extreme conditions.

You can keep your family safe on the road this summer by keeping a lookout on weather forecasts for torrential rains and thunderstorms that are characteristic of the hot season here on the eastern and southern coasts of Australia.

It's also worth noting that your family may be at risk even without storm clouds on the horizon. The culprit here? Extreme fire danger ratings.

You don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere when heavy smoke from a nearby bushfire meets the rural highways. If you find yourself near a fire in your vehicle, you may find that your only option is to stay in the car if it's safe to do so, as breathing outside air may lead to damaging smoke inhalation.

Rescue squads are well-versed in removing trapped drivers in the event of a large bushfire, but the best method of practising bushfire traveller safety is really to not travel at all on days with total fire bans. It's worth staying in a rural town or at a caravan park for the day rather than driving through regions with extreme fire ratings.

In the event that you do get trapped in bad weather or in some heavy smoke, you will need to make sure that your car is equipped with a thoroughly packed emergency car kit.

This kit should ideally be filled with a good amount of water and non-perishable food items, some extra woollen blankets for warmth, a first aid kit, some masks with filters (in case you need to walk through smoke), some flares, some portable jumper cables, and some heavy-duty protective clothing and boots, just in case you'll need to leave your car and walk to a secondary location.

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As you can see, staying safe on the roads this summer is really about doing your due diligence and ensuring that both you and your family are well-aware of the dangers that may arise when setting off on a road trip across the Australian bush.

Our rural highways are set in unique environments that are often at their most extreme weather conditions in the height of summer and our holiday season.

Acknowledging this reality and preparing for it as a family unit will be your best defence against the most common pitfalls travellers face in their own great Aussie road trips.