As businesses reopen and mask mandates lift, Americans are embarking on summer road trips en masse. Travel rates are steadily increasing after plummeting to an all-time low during the pandemic — and drivers are hitting the road to visit family and explore the country after spending the year at home. 

It’s more important than ever to practice safe driving behavior: despite a drop in traffic during the pandemic, car-crash death rates have surged throughout the pandemic, and statistics show that distracted driving from phone use happens most frequently during the summer. 

If you’re preparing for a road trip this summer, here are four tips to keep you and your family safe on the road. 

Plan your route and set your playlist

Setting up your navigation and queuing a playlist before you hit the gas is one of the simplest ways to avoid distracted driving. One of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by phone use while driving, and changing the music or programming the GPS are common culprits. 

Don’t eat behind the wheel 

Eating while driving can be tempting when on a long trip — but while it might shave some time off of your road trip, it dramatically increases your chances of getting in a car accident. 

Statistics show that eating or drinking while driving increases your chances of getting in an accident by 80%, according to the National Highway Safety Administration, and 65% of “near-miss” accidents are due to drivers munching while behind the wheel. 

Get a good nights sleep

Hundreds of people are killed each year in crashes involving drowsy drivers. Drowsy driving crashes most frequently occur between midnight and 6 a.m., as well as in the late afternoon, and frequently involve a driver falling asleep behind the wheel and running off the road without braking. 

Getting seven to eight hours of sleep before getting behind the wheel is the best way to protect yourself from feeling drowsy while driving, and experts stress that relying on caffeine to stay awake is not enough. 

If you’re sleep-deprived and using caffeine to stay awake, you can still fall into “microsleep” or brief losses of consciousness that can last a couple of seconds, putting you at an elevated risk of crashing. 

Take frequent stops 

Whether you pull over to rest in a parking lot, see an attraction, or sit down at a restaurant for a meal, taking frequent stops while on road trips is a simple way to help you stay more alert.

It’s easy to get fatigued when driving on long stretches of highway or in rural areas, and planning stops to move your body and take a break can prevent you from zoning out.

Sign Hunter’s Pledge to End Distracted Driving

Hunter’s Pledge was designed to encourage drivers to commit to safe driving habits. Since 2016, tens of thousands of drivers have signed the pledge and permanently changed their driving behaviors. Studies show that signing a pledge can dramatically and permanently change behaviors. In fact, 55 percent of people who sign Hunter’s Pledge have changed their driving behavior. 

Hunter’s Fund

Hunter’s Fund honors the life of Hunter Watson, a young man of extremely diverse talents who was killed at 20-years-old when he was fatally injured as a passenger in a distracted driving collision.

Through distracted driving education and awarding grants to help young people’s involvement in performing arts, music, computer science, and entrepreneurship, Hunter’s Fund empowers young people in their careers and keeps Hunter’s spirit alive.

Does your fraternity or organization want to get involved with Hunter’s Pledge? Click here for more information, or contact Laurel Holmes laurel@hunterwatson.org.