Safety Checklist for a Family Road Trip

No road trip checklist would be complete if it didn’t include what to pack in the car for your safety considerations. You want to make sure you are prepared for minor messes and serious situations like a breakdown or someone getting hurt.

Here’s your pre-road trip checklist:

• Water: Along with drinking water, you’ll need utility water — you never know when you’ll need to fill the radiator or clean dirty hands. You don’t use potable water for utility water, but instead fill containers with water from the hose.
• First aid kit: Every car should have a first aid kit, but go through it to make sure it is filled with the necessary bandages, wound cleaners, and ointments. Check expiration dates to be certain all your supplies are in good condition and usable.
• Hand sanitizer: Being out and about means you are in places where you are unsure about COVID precautions. Keep enough hand sanitizer to use for after eating, at rest stops, or after sightseeing.
• Tire change kit: Be ready for a flat and make sure you know how to change a tire. Include something to kneel on to make the whole thing easier.
• Jumper cables: Get a unit that comes with a battery source so that you are not subject to the help of strangers if in a jam.
• Gas can: “It never hurts to have a gas can onboard, and you should always err on the side of taking too many stops for fuel than taking too few. There’s nothing worse than running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and on a long road trip that’s a very real possibility,” Jake McKenzie from Auto Accessories Garage recommended to Mom.com.
• Flashlight: Change the batteries or get an emergency flashlight that uses a hand crank to power up. You never know when you’ll need to be searching for something in the dark.
• Multi-tool: Be the MacGyver Mom you always wanted to be, ready for anything with a multitool that has a screwdriver, pliers, knife, and more.
• Window scraper: It may be a summer road trip but don’t discount Mother Nature from creating havok when she can with snow or ice at high altitudes.
• Small shovel: This is useful for more than just making sand castles at the beach. A shovel can help dig you out of a precarious situation where your wheels won’t get any traction.
• Blankets: You never know when you’ll need to be hunkered down on the side of the road. Blankets will make sure everyone is safely warm while you wait for help.
• Paper towels or wet wipes: Messes happen, especially with kids around. Get your hands clean so you can safely get back to driving.
• Car seat review: You’re going to be in the car for many hours. This is the perfect time to inspect and review your car seat to make sure it is installed correctly and is the right size for your growing child.
• Car servicing: Get the car serviced with all the fluids checked before you leave. You don’t want to realize you ran out of wiper fluid while dealing with the monster bugs of the midwest splatting on your windshield.
• At-home COVID tests: Be prepared to check yourself if you are concerned that you and your family were exposed to COVID.
• Face masks: Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just relaxed face mask rules for vaccinated individuals there are still many places where they are required, such as on public transportation and in medical settings. So make sure and bring along plenty for you and your family.
• Road Atlas: Mom Kristy Esparza warns against relying solely on technology. “We use Google Maps for everything, but have definitely been in a situation where we make a quick stop and can’t get a signal to turn our map on again,” she told Mom.com. “After the last time this happened in the middle of the desert, I decided to always carry old fashioned maps to avoid accidentally driving hours in the wrong direction with no gas stations in sight.”

One of the challenges on a road trip is keeping everyone busy during the long, sometimes boring, hours on the road. You want to make sure the activities to keep your child busy are also age-appropriate and safe.

Here are the things to keep in mind regarding safety while on the road:

• Secure everything: If it isn’t being used, make sure it is secured in the trunk or cargo area of the vehicle. Sudden stops (or worse, crashes) can cause objects to be projectiles that could injure you or your children.
• Have a pillow for kids: sleeping in a car seat is the safest place but can still leave kids in precarious positions. A pillow that bolsters their head up helps keep them safe while snoozing on the drive.
• Don’t leave kids in the car unattended: Rest stops are necessary, but be sure to get the whole family out together when making those restroom and snack stops. This prevents anyone from taking your child and will also prevent overheating in a parked car during the summer
• Choose safer snacks: This is especially true for younger children. While fresh grapes can be enticing, they are a choking hazard that you don’t need while trying to concentrate on the road. In fact, do your best to stop and eat — you may even make it part of the trip destinations with great picnics along the way.

Driving safely is paramount when on a road trip. This means following traffic rules and also using a lot of common sense while driving.

Here are the most important rules of the road for your road trip:

• Road trip weather check: Plan ahead and get an idea of what the weather will be like while you drive. Try to avoid serious storms that can adversely affect driving conditions — especially if you aren’t used to driving in them.
• Check state laws: States may have different rules than your home-state when it comes to driving. Things like texting or distracted driver rules can be different. So while you should never text and drive regardless of the state fines, it’s good to know what might be different about road signs while entering new states.
• Be aware of wildlife: Just as the scenery changes, so does the wildlife and they all pose different types of hazards to you when driving.