Summer is here and if your next vacation is a road trip, your vehicle is about to transform into a mobile home. Here are five things to do that will help make your car safe for your family road trip!

Take your car in for a tune-up

Nothing ruins a trip quite like car trouble. Bring your car into AA Muffler and Brakes a few days prior to your trip for a free inspection. Leave enough time before your trip for any repairs, if necessary.

Sleep!

Drowsy driving inhibits your ability to focus, slows down your reaction times, and can have a negative effect on your ability to make good driving decisions. You should only drive when well-rested and make sure to rotate drivers every few hours when possible.

Pack an Emergency Kit

Being prepared is the key to a successful road trip. Make sure you have an emergency kit in the car with water bottles, thick blankets, flashlights, batteries, jumper cables, flares, equipment to change a tire, a first aid kit, and a fully-charged cell phone.

Be sun-safe, even in the car

Make sure everyone has a hat, sunglasses, and has applied sunscreen. Cover the seats with blankets when you leave the car so that they don’t get too hot, and do a “touch test” before letting young children get back in. Never leave your kids alone in the car; the inside temperature of a parked car can skyrocket even when it’s only 80° outside.

Conduct a thorough once-over of the back seat

Activate child safety locks on windows and doors, remove dangerous substances such as washer fluid from the back seat, and check for potential choking hazards. Lock down or remove any projectiles as well; when the car is going 55mph, so is everything inside it. Sudden stops or crashes will cause anything that isn’t strapped down to fly forward until it hits something and stops.