GREENSBORO, N.C. — Triple A reports more than 40 million people will travel by car this holiday weekend. There are tips you should keep in mind to ensure a safe trip.
Corporal Chad Brechtel with the Greensboro Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit says during the holidays traffic fatalities tend to rise. One way to ensure safety is to pre-plan your route.
This means before your travel, have an idea of what your route looks like.
Let a family member know what time you plan to arrive so they can know when to expect you incase an emergency happens and make sure your vehicle maintenance is up to date and your tires are in good shape.
"Make sure your windshield wipers are good, headlights work, those are very important things they can actually help avoid some traffic crashes," Chad Brechtel said.
You also want to make sure you leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you.
Lastly, avoid any thing that can cause a distraction.
"it’s very important not to use any electronic devices while you’re driving even sometimes your front seat passenger can be distracting as far as trying to show you something so try to avoid that stuff make sure you’re wearing your seatbelt make sure your children are in the proper child restraint seats," Brechtel said.
You can also expect to see an increase in law enforcement across the whole county and on highways. It’s through the Governors Highway Safety program called the "Click it or Ticket" campaign to help boost the use of seat belts.