However, no matter where you’re setting your sights, it’s important to remember that there are significant risks to heading out on our Aussie country highways.
The last thing you want is an accident or mishap to mar your experience, with risks of not only vehicle damage but potentially even being stranded along an isolated strip of road waiting hours for support.
To help keep your wheels firmly turning and securely on tarmac over this road trip season, be sure to tick off these safety essentials we’ll be sharing below.
Renew Your Car Insurance Before You Depart
You should always check to renew your car insurance before you head off on an interstate road trip. In the unlikely event of an accident, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you’re fully insured for both damage to your vehicle and any damage you may cause in the case of a crash or collision with another vehicle or someone else’s property (where you’re found to be at-fault).
This is why most avid road trippers take out comprehensive car insurance over third party car insurance, with many opting to also package their insurance with roadside assistance offers that account for nationwide support and servicing.
Pro tip: keep a copy of your insurance policy in your glovebox as you travel for easy reference. If you’re planning to be on the road for an extended period, it also pays to familiarise yourself with your policy inclusions so you’re prepared with all the right information if you ever do need to make a claim with your provider.
Check Your Tyre Pressure and Wear Consistently
Your car manufacturer will usually specify an ideal pressure to which your tyres should be inflated.
If you’re unsure of what the recommended tyre pressure is for your vehicle, then try checking the panel found on the driver’s door frame, although for some makes of cars, it can be elsewhere, such as in the owner’s manual.
Ensure that all of your tyres are pumped to match the indicated value.
Once you’ve completed that, the next step is to check your tyres for wear. There are usually some bars of rubber in between your tyre grooves on each of your tyres.
These should be level with the groove or not worn too far below it. Unfortunately, if these rubber indicators are worn down, you’ll need to replace the worn tyres before you embark on your road trip.
This is costly; yes, we can’t deny that. However, worn-out tyres can be highly hazardous to drive on and will affect the performance of your vehicle.
Ensure that you invest in new tyres so that you’ll have peace of mind that you and your family will be safe throughout the course of your interstate getaway.
Always Check Your Car’s Lights
While you’re looking at the state of your car’s tyres and pressure, it’s also well worth fully checking your car’s headlights, brake lights, indicators and reversing lights too.
Assessing that all of these are functioning correctly will also play a prominent role in ensuring that your passengers and family stay safe during your road trip.
Malfunctioning or broken lights may also mean that your car is not roadworthy and can be a hazard to yourself and other drivers.
Driving a car that isn’t fully roadworthy may result in you being hit with a hefty fine if you’re stopped by the highway patrol on the way to your destination.
Remember, we’re still in summer so local highway patrols are still operating with added holiday staffing. Expect more patrols over your warm weather road trip planning.
It’s also worth noting that if you want to outsource these tasks, scheduling a tune-up, service, and an assessment of your car should also be booked a good few weeks before you’re set to leave on your trip. The reason for this is simply that it may be tricky for the mechanic to find the parts required a few days before your trip, so catching any issues at the last minute may likely result in your family being forced to hire a rental car or even postponing your trip, instead of having the risk of taking your faulty family vehicle along for the journey.
Invest in Roadside Assistance Coverage
If you don’t already have this, it may be worth investing in an emergency roadside assistance policy before leaving on the big day for your interstate road trip.
This coverage is essentially an insurance policy that means in the case of a breakdown, flat tyre, dead battery or other mechanical issues, the insurance company will send out a vehicle and technician to get you moving again.
Your insurance company may already offer roadside assistance, so as you renew your insurance policy, this can be the best time to take out this cover.
Be sure to pay attention to the policy details, as it may have restrictions on the areas covered or no towing after a certain distance from your city. The last thing you want is to pay for the cover and find out it’s useless to you in a rural or remote location.
Get your Vehicle Ready for Safe Road Tripping
With road fatalities being a consistently high statistic nationwide, road safety is an evergreen concern for Australians everywhere, whether you’re living on the outskirts of Melbourne or Sydney or deep in the heart of regional VIC or NSW.
Thankfully, regions including Deniliquin are investing more heavily into rural road safety to ensure that regional roads are easier and more secure to navigate – not just for locals, but also for travellers and visitors.
If you’re planning to travel interstate to regional areas during the summer, however, then you can do your part to keep our roadways safe by following the recommendations we’ve made above in this safety checklist.
In following these tips, you can not only help keep you and your fellow travellers secure on motorways this summer, but also help to respect the road safety investments being made across Australia by regional communities.
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