Friday is Canada Day north of the border and Monday is Independence Day south of the border.
Holiday travel presents special risks for truck drivers. The increased traffic means more road congestion, impatient drivers, and increased impaired drivers. We make our living navigating the roads and we need to be prepared for the challenges that this time of year presents.
Allow More Time To Reach Your Destination
There’s more traffic on the roads on long weekends. This means that you’re going to be stuck in traffic more than usual and you need to account for this extra time. Part of proper trip planning is ensuring you leave on time and can arrive safely and on time. We need to take in account situational considerations such as heavy traffic flow. The increased traffic will also create heavier back ups in construction zones.
Be prepared for unusual traffic patterns, which will change quickly. We can be travelling on wide-open freeway and, in the next moment, stuck in traffic.
Watch for More Bad Ideas by Drivers
People want to get to wherever they’re spending the long weekend. Expect impatient drivers to do unexpected and dangerous things to try and save a few minutes. Keep in mind many of them aren’t used to longer trips and often don’t understand planning their trip like professional drivers. Impatients and sometimes road rage can compel drivers to do things that put them, and others, at risk. Stay calm and drive defensively.
Remember we are the professionals; exacerbating an unpleasant experience with an unfriendly hand gesture is far from helpful.
Watch for Increased Impaired Drivers
There’s always an increase of impaired drivers during national holidays. Be extra diligent watching the traffic around you, particularly, in the evening when people start getting their groove on. Keep clear of vehicles driving erratically and be extra careful passing other vehicles.
When possible, try to shut down early. Reducing your drive time when there is increased risk, of a drunk driver causing an accident, is one of the easiest ways to stay clear of an accident.
Canada Day & July 4th
There’s great cause for celebration this weekend. Let’s help make sure everyone gets home safe and sound!
Len Dubois Trucking is proud of the dedication to safety of our drivers and staff. To find out more about us check out our Drivers Testimonials, Drivers and Owner Operator pages. See us in action and join us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
