It’s the start of a season of warm weather, family vacations, and outdoor adventures. But summer break has an unfortunate side affect: the extra highway traffic.
Memorial Day Weekend is one of the most dangerous times to be on the road.
Your vehicle could seriously hurt or kill someone.
Driving safely is a serious responsibility, and we often take it far too lightly.
You know the basic rules for safe driving:
- Put the phone down, and keep your attention on the road.
- Don’t drive if you’ve been drinking.
- Signal before you change lanes.
- Maintain a safe following distance.
All of these actions boil down to one simple rule for safe driving the summer months.
Drive like your family is in every vehicle.
When you’re behind the wheel, you have a responsibility to yourself—and to everyone else on the road.
It’s normal to be frustrated by heavy traffic on the highway. When you’re behind a slow-moving car in the left lane, or a semi-truck trying to merge, remember: that driver is someone’s child, parent, spouse or sibling.
Everyone has somewhere to be: we are all trying to get to work, go home—or get out of town.
We all want to arrive safely.
We all want our family and friends to arrive safely.
Behind the wheel of every car, truck, or van is someone’s loved one. This summer, try to drive like your family is in every vehicle. Be respectful of their safety, as you would want them to be respectful of your safety.
It’s the golden rule of driving.
This post was originally published 2/2/15, and updated 5/26/17.
