Archive for the ‘Rental Car Safety’ Category
Seven Tips For Staying Safe While Renting A Car
Have you ever found yourself in a bad situation while traveling or operating a rental vehicle? It’s not fun, but many bad situations can be prevented with a little preparation. Renting a car should be a fun and safe experience for you and your family, and we do everything we can to ensure the best possible rental car experience. Unexpected events do happen, so here are a few tips to help keep your rental car experience as safe and enjoyable as possible.
- Maintain A Low Profile. Do not tell strangers that you are operating a rental vehicle, and make sure your rental vehicle does not have any obvious symbols to indicate that it is a rental vehicle. Keep all of your luggage in the trunk so it does not look like you are traveling.
- Know your route before you start driving. If you are unfamiliar with the area you will be driving in, ask for directions or map out your route before you start traveling. Many E-Z Rent-A-Car locations offer GPS systems for rent to assist you with directions and planning your route. Looking down to read directions from web services such as Mapquest or Google Maps is not a good idea, because it takes your eyes off of the road. If you are traveling with a partner, ask them to read the directions to you or voice record the directions for playback while you are driving.
- Be cautious about suspicious activity. If it appears that someone is trying to intentionally bump you from behind or flag you down from the side of the road, do not pull over on the side of the road or get out of your car. If you are involved in an accident or your car fails to operate properly, try to pull over in a well-lit, heavily populated area.
- Take Valuables With You. Do not leave valuables like jewelry, cash, or expensive sunglasses in the car. If you do not want to take the valuables with you, lock them in the trunk where they are not visible to criminals. It’s also a good idea to lock up your valuables before you park the car, because criminals might be watching you once you leave the vehicle.
- Park in well-lit parking lots or garages. If you are in a big city where parking is hard to find, choose an affordable parking garge or a parking meter located on a busy street.
- Never drive while under the influence of alcohol or prescription/illicit drugs. This is obvious, but there is a fine line that many people do not know when to draw when it comes to drinking and driving. The best policy is to never drive if you drink, no matter how much or how little you had.
- Drive Safely. This is also obvious, but many people drive rental cars with the mentality that it’s not their car, so they drive a little faster and/or more reckless. Drive your rental car as if it was your own car. Speeding, running red lights, and not wearing your seat belt are leading causes of car accidents. When you are driving a rental car, know that you are representing the company that owns it, and they trust that you will operate it properly.
If you follow these tips, your rental car experience will be much more enjoyable, and the likelihood that you have a problem will be greatly reduced. Do you have any more tips to share with us? Do you have any real life experiences that you have learned from? We’d love to hear them. Write a comment below!
Tags: discount car rental, Driving Tips, rental car safety tips