Preparation is Key When Traveling At Home or Abroad

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend signals the start of the summer vacation season. While travel is fun and entertaining, taking a few precautions to ensure your personal safety while away from home can help prevent accidents and make them easier to deal with if they do happen.

One of the most important steps in preparing for a vacation is taking time to double-check and make sure you have current auto insurance cards in your car. You also should take along your medical insurance information, in case you or members of your family need medical attention while you’re on vacation. This is especially critical if you’re traveling abroad. Be sure you know your insurance coverage rules. Some policies will not cover injuries you sustain when in certain foreign countries.

Regardless of your destination, always take your insurance information with you when you travel, and like a copy of your passport, store copies of your policy in your bag. If you are injured while away from home, make sure you receive copies of all of the paperwork from your hospital visit in case you need it to facilitate the processing of your claim.

If you’re planning on driving during your vacation, it’s a good idea to check out The Association for Safe International Road Travel’s website if you’ll be on the road in a foreign country to find out what that country’s driving policies are. For domestic travel, you can visit DMV.org for state-by-state rules of the road info.

If you are renting a car, make sure to do your own safety check of the vehicle before you drive away from the rental company’s lot. At a minimum, SmarterTravel.com in its Top 10 Travel Safety Tips recommends you take the time to check tire pressure and check the oil, as well as make sure the vehicle’s windshield wipers and headlights are functioning properly.

We hope all of your vacation travels are safe and incident free, but if you are injured while away from home this summer, contact Alpharetta attorney David Van Sant to discuss your options.