As everyone travels away from the campus for the winter holidays, whether it be by car, plane, or the few who still travel by train, it is important to stay safe.
For those driving home through the possible winter storms on their way home, here are seven tips on how to stay safe:
- Stick to main roads and highways.
- Avoid driving at night.
- Pack blankets, food, and water in your car in case you become standard.
- Let family members or friends know what your travel route is and when you should be there.
- If a storm causes you to stop, pull off to the side and turn on your hazards.
- If you are stranded for a long period of time, run your engine for ten minutes every hour and slightly open a window for ventilation. It’s also important to remove any snow that builds up on the car’s exhaust pipe.
- If by any possible bad luck you have to spend the night in your car, turn on the interior overhead light.
For those flying home on commercial flights through possible winter storms, here are eight tips on how to fly safe:
- Fly nonstop whenever possible to eliminate your chances of getting stuck midway through your travels.
- Book the earliest flight possible to limit the chance of having your flight affected by winter weather.
- Check the weather days before your flight so there are no surprises.
- Look up the airline and airports on social media to be alerted about what is happening with the airline.
- If you made hotel reservations, make sure they are ones you can cancel. Also if you suspect that your flight might get affected by bad weather, make a backup hotel reservation you can cancel if you don’t have to use it.
- Keep your phone charged and your charger nearby. It would also be good to invest in a power bank in case you need to charge your phone and there are no outlets.
- Like with any flight, pack wisely and keep a carry-on with you.
- Buy travel insurance.
For those going home by train, here are five tips on how to travel safely:
- Since ice tends to form more quickly on train platforms, watch out for icy conditions.
- Always, without a doubt, use handrails. The stairs are going to be slippery and you don’t want to fall on them.
- Even after boarding the train, be careful of slippery conditions.
- Avoid moving between train cars. The areas between cars will have icy conditions.
- When driving to and from the station, be careful.
Whether you’ve heard all these tips before or not, hopefully they help you to stay safe through holiday travels.
These tips were found at weather.com, covertrip.com, and darienite.com.