After the age of ten I was never really into Christmas. I just couldn’t see the point, generally we’d all leave our comfortable house and head somewhere, we didn’t really want to go, to talk to people that we spent most of the year trying to avoid. It made no sense. As I got older Christmas became more and more like attending a strip club. It was ridiculously expensive and at the end of it you walked away feeling more than a little disappointed.

My outlook on Christmas has changed now that beloved and offspring have entered my life. Children really do bring the ol’ Christmas spirit back into your life as you start reflecting on what it all means just to spend a few days reveling in your family’s company. This year we are once again taking the pilgrimage to Swan Hill to join beloved’s aunt, uncle and cousins in food, bevvies and gifts. We are of course, driving.

This brings me to the point of the article. This is the time of the year that most people will undertake their longest drive of the year. It is also the time of the year that we get to see Ken Lay on our televisions, radios and web browsers flapping on about how the police are going to get every one that breaks the law so no-one gets hurt. Nice sentiment but it is highly unlikely that this year’s holiday road toll will be any less than last years. So, it’s time for me to get all preachy on your asses and provide some holiday driving tips.

Fatigue is one of the biggest causes behind all collisions in this state. I have said this before and will continue to stand behind the statement. Driving is strenuous. I know it doesn’t seem like it as all you are doing is sitting down, whacking the cruise control on and steering but; even if you don’t realize it your brain is processing a bucket load of information every second. The majority of this information is related to the actual act of driving. Cars ahead, cars behind, rough bit of road, corner ahead, speed of your vehicle not too mention carrying on conversations with passengers and attempting to control your children. Why anyone would want to throw a mobile phone into the mix at this point is beyond me.

Driving is no different to any other activity. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. It amazes me that people who drive no further than the two or three kilometers to the train station each day consider themselves properly fit to drive the twelve hours to Sydney from Melbourne in one hit. Madness people, madness. Swap drivers often and if you are the only one capable of driving the car, take a break every couple of hours. This costs you nothing but time and could very well save your life.

What is the condition of your vehicle? When did you last check the tyres for tread and pressure? People are still prepared to skimp on the most important element of a car. That’s right the MOST important. Tyres are the only contact between your car and the road. You need to check them before you go anywhere, let alone a long drive. Correct tyre pressure will not only help your tyres grip the road they will also increase your fuel economy, same story with tread.

Generally with tyres you get what you pay for and just because the latest Chinese no-name brands are selling for $49 each does not mean you should buy them. Experience is everything and Bridgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Continental and Goodyear have been making the black donuts for nearly a century each and know what they are doing. I’m currently using and highly recommend Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalins and although the size I install cost about $500 each they are well worth the money. I got some for a little Mazda 323 and they were only $170 each.

All fluids should be checked, including window washer bottle. Brake, transmission and power steering fluids as well as radiator and oil levels are greatly important to how your vehicle will perform on a long trip. If you don’t know how to check these things, find out or take your vehicle to your local mechanic.

Probably the most important thing though is this. Just take care of each other out there. Consider your whole surroundings and not just the three meters in front of your bonnet. Indicate early before you merge or change lanes. Maintain a gap to the car in front, two seconds is what is commonly recommended and I’ll concur. I usually try for this and it has saved me costly repairs a few times in the last couple of months alone. Watch the vehicles ahead. If they’re braking it’s probably for a reason so remove your foot from the throttle and prepare yourself to do the same.

Letting people in to your lane ahead of you is not an admission of weakness. It will cost you about half a second at the most and will remove much stress from both you and the person you are letting in. Also, consider this, you will never be penalised by the police or cameras for driving at the speed limit. Having said this, drive to the conditions at whatever speed you feel comfortable. If you feel unable to do 100 km/h on the freeway or highways stick to the left hand lane or even find an alternate route.

Plan your journey. I know the need to do this has diminished since the advent of GPS technologies, but, having a general idea of where you will be going is not going to hurt. Plus, GPS does not always know best and does not always take into account things like road works, traffic signals and current traffic conditions. If you don’t want to fill your car with maps then Google Maps or WhereIs.com can help you out.

So, that’s about it for this year. Skoeman’s Holiday Driving Tips. There are other little things you can do to make your holiday driving easier but I have space to consider, these are the major ones. However, I would also like to point out that these don’t just need to be holiday driving tips. Using them every day won’t, as the TAC like to put it, kill you. Happy holidays.

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