It’s about that time of the year again. We are already counting down to the end of the year. For many people, especially Christians, it’s also the preparation for the biggest festive periods. Christmas and the end-of-year festivities get even closer as the day goes by.
However, some of the most gruesome road troubles arise during this time. The surge of road users has become high, bringing about a lot of. Generally, unsafety looms in the air each December. But that’s not reason enough for most people not to travel, especially those who cannot afford plane tickets.
Given that, it’s important to devise safety tips to guide your road journey. Here are some important safety tips to follow this December.
Start Your Journey Early
Once it’s December, road traffic increases, and most of the time, many people spend long hours on the road. Nigeria is not safe enough to spend long hours on the road, especially if you’re on a long journey.
The best option to evade the traffic surge is to start your trip early. Leave the house as early as possible and hit the road. Leaving earlier saves you time that would have otherwise been spent on the road. However, make sure you’re only leaving when the day breaks. Avoid travelling during odd hours. Hours between 5 am-6 am is a good time to start your journey.
Service Your Car Before Travelling
To avoid your car suddenly breaking down in the middle of the road with a long journey ahead of you, service your car. Before you set off to travel this year, take your car for servicing, whether it’s a long or short journey.
Allowing an auto specialist to look through your car before a long journey helps you figure out problems that need to be addressed. You don’t want to suddenly find yourself with a malfunctioning car in the middle of nowhere. Avoid it by running a maintenance check a few days before travelling.
Travel With Spare Parts & Tools
Despite running a maintenance check on your car, some occurrences are unpredictable. Sometimes, it could be mistakenly getting a punched tire on the road or some other issues coming up. Always carry spare parts and tools in your car to avoid this affecting your travel midway.
These things will save you time from worrying about or locating the closest mechanic shop. It’ll also save you from spending unsafe hours on the road.
Avoid Night Travel
Like a plague, avoid night travels. There used to be times when night travels were fun in Nigeria but now is no longer the time. Night journeys are risky, and there’s no certainty about what could happen. Avoid the temptation of gambling with your security by travelling at night.
Follow Only Safe Routes
With the rate of insecurity in the country, there are now off-zone routes for travellers. Before embarking on a trip this December, find out if the route you’re travelling through is safe. If it’s not, find out if there are safer routes to follow for safety.
If you are travelling in your private car, the best people to get this information are commercial drivers who follow these places regularly.
Avoid Over-Speeding
You could be travelling from Lagos to the East and think over speeding to get you to the East before nightfall. Well, that’s also putting your life in danger because road users multiply at this time.
Of course, travelling from a place like Lagos to the East is an entire day’s journey, but overspeeding causes more harm than good. Instead of overspeeding, refer to the first tip, and get to the East or anywhere earlier and safer.
Use Reputable Transport Companies
Of course, the economy is hard, and everyone is trying to make ends meet by cutting expenses. But that along-the-road bus you’re trying to use could result in more problems than ever imagined.
Unregistered commercial vehicles are cheaper, but that’s not all there’s to them. Many problems come with using unregistered vehicles, and their risks abound. Some of them are; you risk your safety, and they are easy targets of traffic officers and policemen at checkpoints. Most of them also have ill intentions against their passengers.
You shouldn’t be worried about unsafety on the road and unsafety on the bus you’re travelling with. So, avoid unregistered commercial vehicles like the plague. That extra fee a registered company charges you is enough to ensure your safety while travelling.
Conclusion
There are several other safety tips to observe while travelling this December. However, those mentioned above are the basic tips everyone should follow.
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