By Martha Crofts
As students prepare to go home for the up-coming break or plan on taking one last get-away, safety issues are always important.
Now planning a trip to St. George, Aimee Pierce, a senior majoring in theater education and English teaching from St. George, knows about taking safety precautions.
A lucky accident happened on a trip with eight others to San Francisco.
They went to a concert and then she said it was time to sleep at a motel she reserved. The guys who owned the van they came in decided to go back home right then, 1 a.m., instead.
Everybody fell asleep except her and the driver. After a while they decided it was their turn to sleep so they woke somebody up to drive and others to help keep him awake.
Everybody woke up, including the driver, after they scraped the whole side of another car.
'We were lucky we hit a car,' she said. 'We would have gone off the road!'
They were driving through a normally deserted area and the car they hit was the only thing that would have kept them from drifting completely off the road.
It was tough after that, she said. The driver at the time did not own the van and there was a big fight with insurance.
'You have to be careful with situations like that,' she said.
Pierce has also experienced other problems on road trips.
While in a caravan, the car behind them over-heated and began smoking. They had to squish those riders into the other cars.
During her freshman year, some friends borrowed an old van that was not in good condition. They drove to St. George to go hiking and 20 minutes out on their way back the entire transmission fell out.
They were left stranded. Her dad then came to the rescue and drove them back to Provo.
Whenever taking a road trip, seat belts, cell phones and sleep are the most important to her now.
She said causalities and construction are part of the fun of road trips and you have to make the best of them.
Adequate sleep, checked car maintenance and driving courtesy are the main things drivers need to be aware of during trips, said Roylayne Fairclough, American Automobile Association of Utah spokesperson.
People often stay up the night before preparing for a trip, which causes them to be tired while driving the next day, Fairclough said.
Making sure travelers get adequate sleep and take breaks about every two hours or 100 miles will help prevent on-road rollovers caused by drowsiness, she said.
Wearing seat belts is very important too. She suggested checking seat belts to make sure they are not too thin and worn out as well.
Other parts of the car need to be checked prior to leaving too. Fluids may need to be filled or cleaned and tires should be well inflated and have good treads.
Another thing to pay attention to while traveling is the speed limit. She said to look at the overall time being made up by speeding. Often it is only five minutes and not worth the risk, especially if it requires weaving in and out of other cars.
'Just remember we are all on the road together,' she said. 'We need to be courteous and cautious while driving.'
At least once a month, Janelle Bair, a senior majoring in family history, drives home to Burley, Idaho. Although the four-hour drive has become a regular trip, Bair still remembers to take safety precautions.
The first rule she made for herself is to not leave Provo after 7 p.m. This is because the last two hours of her trip is through an area that is extremely bare, which makes it tough to stay awake.
Since her sister, Ashley, moved to Provo, she does not have to make the trip alone as much anymore. This allows one to nap while the other takes their turn driving.
Although she was taught to be alert for the other driver, they found that allowing time for naps prove more beneficial so they are alert them self while driving.
She said anybody going on a road trip should be willing to get off at a rest stop or gas station and take a nap if they find themselves getting tired, even if people give you funny looks!
Being prepared for possible causalities is important as well.
Bair''s parents have counseled her to keep a 72-hour kit and a sleeping bag inside her car.
She also knows about the importance of knowing the area she drives through.
She recently got caught in a downpour while driving back to Provo. She knew not to stop because it was hard to see.
Many car pile-ups have occurred in that area because drivers got scared and stopped without the driver behind them seeing.