10 Tips To Avoid Car Crashes While Driving Cross Country

Driving cross country is as American as - well, I suppose there may not be anything more American than that - a road trip. It can be better than apple pie, possibly better than baseball. Note how I deftly avoided the whole "mom" issue. However, in order for this traditional American adventure to become a fond memory, tales of which will be passed down from nostalgic father to bored son for generations, precautions must be taken. Foremost among these precautions is safe driving.

An accident ruins a driving trip. Even if one sets aside the looming specter of critical injury and deals only with a minor fender bender, less deadly but still serious considerations remain: the delay in reaching your destination, filling out police reports and insurance claims, and, finally, dealing with the other, likely pissed off, motorist. All things considered, not a fun time.

Let's face it: accidents are to be avoided. Safe driving is taught in driver education classes for very good reasons. It does, though, tend to focus on the basics, such as maintaining a safe speed, signaling before you turn, and knowing the rules of the road.

Additional, more sophisticated levels of safe motoring, acquired through years of regular driving, include lessons that tend to be learned through experience, sometimes the hard way, sometimes the very hard way. These lessons can be passed on from those who paid the price to learn them to those who would just as soon not have to go through it themselves.

Here, then, is a list of ten tips from experienced drivers, presented with all due humility and affection for fellow motorists, to those who may be in need of a bit of wisdom.

1. If you feel yourself nodding off, pull over. A quick nap at highway speeds will not leave you feeling more alert.
2.  Don't turn around to achieve eye contact with the misbehaving child in the back seat.
3. Don't try to outrun the cop in the souped-up police special.
4. Leave the french fry you dropped under the seat - under the seat. You can get it later.
5. Save the fifth for your destination. Alcohol is not what is meant by alternative fuel.
6. You will not reach your destination sooner by hitting a speed trap at 120 mph.
7. Stub out that joint and hand the keys to your buddy who hasn't had any.
8. While driving, don't fish around in the glove box for your road rage solution.
9. Take his/her hand out of your lap.
10. Railroad crossing gates are not slalom poles.

Mostly, these are common sense tips, offered by those who have suffered a momentary lapse of said common sense. Try to keep in mind that small mistakes in judgment are magnified when you are in a two-thousand-pound hunk of metal, plastic, glass and brains. Take a moment, before you embark on your journey, to consider how much you'd like to enjoy the trip. And how much you'd like to live to tell the tale.

Jim Henderson has been driving cross country in large semi-trucks for over 20 years and has gained a significant amount of knowledge on road-safety. Keep reading Jim's articles for more truck driver tips.