Taking off on an end of summer road trip?

Make sure your vehicle is ready before you hit the open road. Check your engine oil, coolant levels and lights, and inspect your vehicle tires to make sure they’re in good condition and properly inflated.

Contact the writer: Keith Morgan on Twitter @ChangeGears

With summer plans often including more time on the road, make sure you assess your tires before a road trip. Check them regularly for air pressure and tread depth and always replace tires with bulges, cuts, or cracks.

Relatives, friends and caregivers often transport children in summer. By law, drivers are required to make sure all children under the age of 16 are secured appropriately to age and weight in a car seat, booster seat or seat belt. Ensure their seats or boosters go with them if they are travelling in someone else’s car.

An average of 42 people are killed in impaired-related crashes every summer in B.C.

Plan ahead for a safe ride home – arrange a designated driver, call a taxi or take transit. Police across B.C. will be looking for impaired drivers at CounterAttack roadchecks this summer.

Summer can be a great time to teach teenagers to drive now that school is out and road conditions are good. If your teen will be driving your vehicle, check that you have the right insurance coverage, particularly if your vehicle is rated in an experienced rate class.

With school out for the summer, more children will be playing outside. As drivers, use extra caution and watch your speed, especially near playgrounds, parks and in residential areas.

Playground speed limits remain in effect year-round.

Crashes involving cyclists increase in spring/summer as ridership increases when B.C. weather is dry and warm. Do your part to help share our roads safely.

When you’re driving, watch out for cyclists – especially in intersections – and be ready to yield to them.

Car crashes are the top cause of preventable deaths for young people in B.C.

With high school graduation just around the corner, make sure teenagers have a plan to get home safely from all of their graduation celebrations and parties.

Police across the province are targeting high-risk driving behaviours in May.

Speeding and following too closely are high-risk driving behaviours that increase your risk of a crash. If you’re taking a road trip with family or friends this weekend, drive safely.

Every day there are situations where you need to yield to another vehicle, motorcyclist, pedestrian or cyclist. Failing to yield may seem harmless but it’s a high-risk driving behaviour that leads to crashes.

When turning left, don’t let pedestrians be your blind spot.

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