| Hiring a rental car entails a lot of responsibility and your safety is the utmost concern of the team at Discovery. When it comes to safety on the road, some of the precautions you can take may seem obvious, yet others need special attention to ensure that your journey is safe and enjoyable. The following safety guidelines will ensure that your car hire experience is a secure one, without any hassles:
Your Own Safety upon Arrival
When picking your rental vehicle up from the depot, there are several precautions you should take to ensure ease with your car hire experience. Before you even think about taking off, review all the necessary maps to ensure you know exactly how to get to your destination. There is nothing worse than getting lost halfway there and having to waste time redirecting yourself. Reading a map while driving can be a dangerous task, so you should avoid this at all costs.
When you are ready to embark on your journey, take a seat in your rental vehicle and spend some time familiarising yourself with the interior safety equipment. Ensure you know exactly where the hazard lights, windscreen wipers, indicators and door locks are. Knowing how to use to air conditioner, CD player/ radio and cruise control is also handy, as these can easily act as distractions, especially if you are unfamiliar with them.
Once you are sure of how the car works, it’s time to head off, keeping in mind the following tips:
Your Safety While Driving
When it comes to your own personal safety, and the safety of the passengers in the vehicle, some of the parameters may be clear, yet others need closer observance. Obvious rules to abide by include paying attention and wearing your seat belt at all times, abiding by speed limits and not running red lights (even when there is no camera). You should also keep an eye on your temperature gauge, and pull over as soon as you see any signs of the vehicle overheating.
While driving in Australia you will journey through much countryside and outback that is, in many aspects, isolated. Always ensure that your vehicle has plenty of petrol because you don’t want to be stranded in unfamiliar territory, without any petrol for miles. The quiet country roads are also prone to the odd hitchhiker or disabled cars on the side of the road. Never stop to pick up either, and if the broken down vehicle looks serious, simply stop in at the nearest service station and inform one of the locals.
While driving at all times you should always leave plenty of room between you and the vehicle in front of you, both while driving and idle at traffic lights. The standard distance between two cars should be at least two seconds, but it is better to be safe than sorry! You should also avoid mobile phone conversations, especially in congested traffic, as this causes many unnecessary accidents. (more…)