The More the Merrier – Group Travel Safety Tips!

Travelling as a group can be great fun, but travellers need to take care when travelling by car in large groups. Drivers are often easily distracted, and distractions are one of the leading causes of road accidents.

There are, however, many ways that distractions can be reduced and the journey made safer without reducing the fun that travelers have, including arranging minibus hire instead of hiring a car so as to have the majority of the group in the back away from the driver.

Here are a few handy group travel tips to help you make your next group journey a safe and enjoyable experience.

Share the Driving

As there are a few people along for the journey, sharing the driving is an excellent way of ensuring that no one gets stuck with the responsibility for the entire trip and risks getting tired and burnt out.

If you’re from overseas and travelling as a group of friends, you’ll need to make sure that everyone has arranged international driving permits in advance so that you’re all able to get behind the wheel and share the driving as a group.

As tiredness is another leading cause of road accidents, it’s important to share the driving so that there’s always someone at the wheel of the car or minibus you hire who’s fresh and can concentrate on the road ahead. Plus, as there are some great rental cars to hire from leading car rental agencies like Ace Rent a Car, everyone will want to get behind the wheel and do their fair share of the driving anyway!

Mind the Distractions

As mentioned earlier, distractions are a leading cause of road accidents, especially when travelling as a group of holidaymakers, so it’s very important to minimise distractions to the driver as much as possible to enable them to concentrate on the road.

This, fortunately, can be achieved without impacting on the great time that everyone’s having, so consider the following points:

• Don’t use mobile phones will driving – Smartphones and mobile phones prevent drivers from focusing on the road and any potential dangers, so avoid the use of your phone at all times. If you need to use digital maps, have the person in the passenger seat give you directions while you drive.

• Keep the rear window clear – The driver needs to see what’s directly behind the car, so it’s very important to keep the rear window clear of luggage, equipment and people as obstructions may prevent them from using their rear-view mirror effectively.

• Get familiar with the vehicle before getting behind the wheel – Whether you’ve arranged car hire or minibus hire for your journey, get familiar with the dashboard and other components before heading off.

Group journeys are usually the best journeys to undertake because the more friends who travel with you, the merrier the journey will be. However, it’s important to travel safely by sharing the driving among the members of the group and making every effort to minimise distractions to the driver.

Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; a website dedicated to opening your eyes to the wild & natural world.

Committed to bringing you the best in adventure travel from all around the globe, there is no mountain too high, and no fete too extreme! They haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on their list.

Follow their journey on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.