Make sure your vehicle is roadworthy. For example, tyre pressures may need adjusting if your route includes motorway travel, if you’re carrying a load or if you’re towing a trailer.
Plan refueling stops.
Check the weather to see how it may affect your route or journey.If it’s a long journey, plan enough time for breaks and refreshment.
If you have a sat-nav, program it before you start your journey. Select the route you prefer and think about traffic congestion and times of day, as this can help you to avoid delays and save fuel.
Don’t rely on your sat-nav alone, as it may have out-ofdate or incomplete information at any given time. Use road and street maps as well, or check your route on the internet.
Give yourself plenty of time for your journey. Hurrying leads to mistakes, and mistakes can lead to incidents.

Before you set out, plan your journey by visiting www.gov.uk or check the smartphone apps from Highways England (formerly the Highways Agency) for live traffic updates. You could also listen to local and national radio for news of roadworks and traffic congestion (see section 18).

FACTS Figures from the Highways Agency (now HighwaysEngland) show that more than 11 000 people ran out of fuel on the English motorway network between April 2010 and September 2011.

Always make sure that you have enough fuel for your journey and don’t leave it until the tank is running low before you fill up.

Clothing and shoes

Make sure you’re comfortable. Wear appropriate clothing, especially on a long journey.

High heels and slippery soles can be dangerous as they can cause your feet to slip off the pedals. Shoes that are too wide, or that easily fall off, can be just as dangerous.

It’s a good idea to keep a suitable pair of shoes in your vehicle, just to wear while you’re driving.

The weather

The weather is another factor to consider when you’re planning a journey. If it’s really bad, it might be best to postpone your trip or use public transport. Always try to avoid driving in thick fog or icy conditions, as the risk of a road traffic incident is far higher.

Many drivers run into difficulties in very bad weather. Follow the weather forecasts and general advice to drivers through local and national media.

Animals

If you’re taking animals with you on a journey

keep them under control
don’t allow them to be loose in the vehicle
don’t leave them in the vehicle for any length of time, especially in hot weather
never let animals loose on the public road – they can cause incidents.

Driving close to home

Many incidents happen close to home on regular daily or routine journeys. If you drive to work every day, don’t leave yourself the bare minimum of time to get there.

Don’t let familiarity with your surroundings lead you to start taking risks simply because you feel you know every detail.

Remember that other road users won’t necessarily have the benefit of local knowledge, so they might drive more cautiously than you feel they should.

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