Family Road Trip Safety - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

ho doesn’t love o

d t

ip? Fill up the t

nk, m

ylist, stock up on sn

cks,

nd get

dy fo

some chill hou

s behind the

heel. B

ing

iend o

ee to keep you comp

ny. Plot

cou

se th

t t

kes you p

sights,

hethe

they’

e n

tul

onde

s o

legend

y BBQ joints. Nothing puts the s

ying “life is

bout the jou

ney, not the destin

tion” into pe

spective quite like

good

d t

ip. Memo

ies e gu

nteed to be m

de. But it,

t’s th

t? The

e’s

cloud

dy to

in on you

de: the eve

-p

esent d

nge

of t

ffic

ccidents. Tgic

lly, tens of thous

nds of people die on U.S.

ds eve

y ye

. Befo

e you stt d

ming

bout you

destin

tion, shouldn’t you feel just

little

oied

bout getting into

csh th

t le

ves you b

dly hu

t, oo

se?

Let ou

expe

ienced <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

tx/tex

s-c-

ccident-l

“>Tex

s c

ccident

tto

neys > do the

ying fo

you.

e’ve come up

ith this h

ndy guide to ensu

e you st

y s

fe the next time you pl

n to hit the

d fo

etch. Come

long fo

the

ide

d on!

o
d T
ip Pl
nning 101<
h2>
Let’s st

t
ith the b
sics.
o
d t
ip vetens h
ve
mess
ge fo

nyone
ho conside
s spont
neity the essence of
good
o
d t
ip. Im
gine you’
e h
nging out
ith you
c
ehen
ll of
sudden someone s
ys, “OMG, let’s go to G

cel
nd
nd sing ‘Love Me Tende
’
t Elvis’s g

ve!” Befo
e you kno
it, you find you
selves some
he
e deep in southe
n

k
ns
s in the middle of the night
ith
n eighth of
t
nk of g
s, 200-plus miles to go until Memphis,
nd nothing to e
t. Not the best of times! But the lesson is lened,
nd
e’
e he
e to she the kno
ledge. Once is enough fo
those kinds of
dventu
es in unde
-p
epedness
nd lo
fuel
ning lights. (Plus,
ith nom
dic “v
n life" becoming inc
e
singly popul, these tips e even mo
e timely.)

The best
o
d t
ip
equi
es some ceful, sensible pl
nning. Nothing complic
ted, just b
sic steps to
void
bject dis
ste
, like:

<
h
ef=”https://exch
nge.
.com/
utomobiles-tvelutomobiles
c

-c

e-
nd-m
inten
nce
#.XoIoNS2ZOu4″ t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“> ong>M
ke su
e you
c
o
ks ong><>. Nothing t
kes the
ind out of you
s
ils f
ste
th
n
c th
t doesn’t st

t.
hen selecting the vehicle fo
you
jou
ney, choose the one
ith ti
es th
t h
ve plenty of t
e
d,

o
king tnsmission,
eli
ble
ipe
s,
nd lights th
t, you kno
, light up. Get
n oil ch
nge befo
e you he
d out, just fo
good me
su
e. M
ny
uto shops offe
“p
e-t
ip s
fety checks"
nd inspections to confi
m you’
e
o
d-t
ip-
e
dy.<
li>

ong>B
ing MONEY! ong> If only
e could
ll live in
utopi
of f
ee g
s, M
. Pibb,
nd
ed Vines. Unfo
tun
tely, you’ll need to b
ing c
sh o
h
ve
c
edit c

d to fund you
needs. The be minimum should cove
g
s both ys
ith
n ext t
nk o
so to spe, me
ls,
nd the cost of
pl
ce to csh (you kno
, if couch-su
fing
ith you
f
iend’s cousin’s ex-
oomm
te doesn’t
o
k out the

y you’d hoped.)

ong>H
ve
destin
tion o
,
t le
st, knohen
nd ho
you
ill get home ong>. Look,
e tot
lly suppo
t the concept of

o
d-t
ip-fo
-
o
d-t
ip’s-s
ke. Sometimes, you just need to d
ive
nd let fo
tune guide you
he
e she m
y. But, even if you pl
n to go fo
the
hole footloose-
nd-f
ncy-f
ee
pp
o
ch to
o
d t
ipping, h
ving
genel ide
of
he
e you might end up is
good ide
.
t
minimum, give you
self
t

get d
te
nd time to
etu
n to
he
eve
you stted, so th
t you h
ve
n ide
of ho
f

you c
n d
ive befo
e it’s time to tu
n

ound.

ong>
L

YS
e
se
tbelt<
st
ong>. On long
o
d t
ips you o
you
p
ssenge
s might be tempted to lie do
n in the b
ckse
t fo n
p, h
ng out the
indo
fo b
eeze, o
bust out some d
nce moves. This is not
o
th unbuckling you
se
tbelt! If you get into
n
ccident,
se
tbelt could be the only thing st
nding bet
een life
nd de
th.

ong>Tell someone you
pl
n<
st
ong>. If you pl
n to visit someone
t the othe
end of you

o
d t
ip, it’s polite to let them kno
you’
e coming. If you just pl
n to he
d out on
n
dventu
e, t
ke
<
h
ef="https:
/hikes
fe.com
the-code” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“> tip f
om outdoo
explo
e
s >
nd tell someone
ho st
ys behind
hen you expect to get b
ck. Th
t y, if something h
ppens
nd you do not
etu
n
s pl
nned, they c
n send out the p
ove
bi
l (o
lite

l) se

ch p

ty.

Believe me, nothing good comes f
om igno
ing these lessons. They
ep
esent the b

e minimum pl
nning steps to get you home f
om

o
d t
ip in one piece.

S
fety On the
o
d<
h2>
S
fety fi
st! Commit this to memo
y befo
e you

o
d t
ip gets unde
y.

Distctions Kill
o
d T
ippe
s<
h3>
Th
t sounds dm
tic, but it’s t

gic
lly t
ue. Long hou
s behind the
heel c
n m
ke
ny
o
d t
ip d
ive
go
little sti
c

zy. To b
e
k up the monotony, some d
ive
s sc
oll th
ough music
nd podc
sts on thei
phones, t
lk to p
ssenge
s in the b
ck se
t, e
t
d
ive-th
u me
l
ith one h
nd,
nd sne
k
peek
t<
h
ef="https:
/
.ze.com" tget="_bl
nk”
el="noopene
nofollo
no
efe

e
"> ze<>
hen it st

ts t
lking to them. Some
o
d t
ippe
s
ho get
e
lly bo
ed even
espond to texts
nd post to soci
l medi

ith one h
nd,
hile holding the stee
ing
heel in the othe
. Do not give into these tempt
tions. These <
h
ef=”https://
.cdc.gov
moto
vehicles
fety/dist

cted_d
iving
index.html” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“>dist

ctions > c
n seve
ely inju
e o
kill people. The hum
n b

in is not built to d
ive s
fely
hile doing
ny of the t
sks
bove. Even if you think you’
e
multi-t
sking m
ste
, no
is not the time to flex. (
ctu
lly, multi-t
sking
<
h
ef=”https://
.np
.o
g
2013/05/10/182861382/the-myth-of-multit
sking" tget="_bl
nk”
el="noopene
nofollo
no
efe

e
"> tot
l myth >.) Plus, being
ble to

lk
nd che
gum
t the s
me time does not m
ke you someho
m
gic
lly
ble to steend text simult
neously. Those t
sks<
h
ef="https:
/
.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
pmc/

ticles/PMC3584251/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“> occupy sep
te pts of you
b

in > th
t do not
o
k
ell togethe
. P
y
ttention to one
nd,
ithout f
il, you
ill lose focus on the othe
. So you’
e left
ith
choice. Not p
ying
ttention to the
o
d c
n get you killed. Not p
ying
ttention to you
phone
on’t. E
sy decision,
e hope.

T
ucks Pose
Th
e
t<
h3>
emembe
ho
,
s
kid, you used to love m
king the “honk you
ho
n”

m sign
l to t
uck d
ive
s
s you
p

ents d
ove p
st
big
ig? Ye
h, don’t do th
t. Especi
lly if you’
e the d
ive
.

Follo
these tips to st
y ext

-s
fe
hen sh

ing the
o
d
ith d
nge
ous, imposing t
ucks:

ong>Do not linge
in “<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
semi-t
uck-guide-blind-spots
“>t
uck blind spots<>”<
st
ong>. T
ucks h
ve lge blind spots. They c
n’t help it. Sm
lle
vehicles like you
s dis
ppe

in those sp
ces
nd become invisible to
t
uck d
ive
. Did you kno

big
ig’s blind spots extend 20 feet in f
ont of
c
b, 30 feet behind
tile
, one l
ne to the t
uck’s left,
nd t
o l
nes to the t
uck’s
ight? Th
t’s
lot of
oom fo
de
dly e

o
s to h
ppen. If you c
nnot see
t
uck d
ive
in his mio
s, then he c
n’t see you. If you st
y in the d
nge
e
ound
t
uck fo
too long,
t
ucke
might speed up, slo
do
n, o
ch
nge l
nes
ithout
e
lizing the d
nge
of
unning you ove
o
c
o
ding you off the
o
d.

ong>
void t
ucks
t l
te hou
s ong>. M
ny
n epic
o
d t
ip h
s begun
t
n odd time of d
y. It often feels
s if t
king off in the middle of the night fo

n unkno
n destin
tion fuels the fun
nd
dventu
e. But the
e’s
p
oblem: du
ing l
te night hou
s,
disp
opo
tion
te she of the tffic you encounte
on the
o
d consists of l

ge t
ucks. Th
t’s no coincidence. T
ucke
s d
ive l
te into the night bec
use thei
delive
y schedules dem
nd it,
nd bec
use they kno
they h
ve
bette
ch
nce of
voiding tie-ups
nd
ush hou
tffic. Still, t
ucke
s e hum
n. Like
nyone, they get ti
ed behind the
heel. In f
ct,<
h
ef=”https://
.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
books/NBK384974/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
nofollo
no
efee
“> studies sho
th
t t
ucke
s d
ive ext
emely ti
ed
lot >. Too much. F
tigue imp
i
s d
iving
bility to the s
me deg
ee
s d
unkenness. In othe

o
ds,
t
uck you encounte
on
l
te-night
o
d t
ip could be
s d
nge
ous
s
d
iveho just do
ned
six-p
ck. Give t
ucks LOTS of ext
oom to m
neuvet night, o
bette
yet, m
ke you
s
d
ytime
o
d t
ip.

h
t’s the
ush?<
h3>
hy speed? o
d t
ip is
time to
el
x. Besides, speeding cont
ibutes to
huge numbe
of c
t
st
ophic
nd f
t
l
ccidents eve
y ye. Do not m
ke you

o
d t
ip one of those s
d st
tistics. Obse
ve speed limits in optim
l d
iving conditions,
nd go even slo
e
on
et, dk, o
foggy
o
ds.

Plus, d
iving
t
s
fe speed
voids the possibility of blo
ing th
ough
speed t

p
nd h
ving to go b
ck fo must-
ppe

cou
t d
te.

The Big “
h
t If…”

d-t

ip-gone-ong might

ell

s the plot of

’90s comedy movie, but he

e in the

ld, tffic-

ted dis

ste

s h

ve ho

ible, dev

ting consequences. If you get into one, you might end up

ith:

Spin
l co
d inju
ies. Spin
l co
d inju
ies f
om c
ccidents p
lyze thous
nds of
me
ic
ns eve
y ye. Don’t spend the
est of you
life in heelch
i
.<
li>
<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
se
vices
houston-t

um
tic-bin-inju
y-tbi-
tto
ney/”>T

um
tic bin inju
ies >. You knoh
t m
kes you you? You
b

in. Inju
e th
t,
nd suddenly eve
ything in you

o
ld ch
nges, st

ting
ith ho
you expe
ience it.<
li>
T

um
tic
mput
tions
nd c
ushed limbs. One poo
choice on the
o
d c
n
lte
the cou
se of the
est of you
life.

e id="

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ibedby="c

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ss=”

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son

l Inju

tto

ney, Ste

t J. Guss" s

c=”https://c

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yvictims.comp-content

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–

ccident-lye

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lt="Ste

t J. Guss”

idth="250" height="247"

> ption id="c

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chment-28041″ cl

ss="

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ef="https:

inju

yvictims.com

-te

m/ste

t-guss

“>Ste

t J. Guss<>, Tex

s Pe

son

l Inju

tto

ney<

figc

ption><

figu

e> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

e could go on, but you c

tch ou

ift. C

ophic c

ccidents on o

d t

ip c

n sh

tte

life

s you kno

it, so ple

se t

y to st

y s

fe. n> If the

st h

ppens

nd you end up in

sh on you

d t

ip, follo

these simple tips to p

otect you

lth

ellbeing:

ong>Get medic
l help
ight
y ong>. Do not p
ss go. Do not collect $200 (o
t
ke
ny money f
om
nyone
ho offe
s to “settle up
ithout getting l

ye
s involved.”) The seve
ity of
ccident inju
ies c
n t
ke

hile to become cle

. Conditions like b

in inju
ies o
inte
n
l bleeding
o
sen ove
time. Do not t
ust th
t just bec
use you “feel ok
y”
fte

c

sh th
t you e, in f
ct, ok
y. Let
docto
look you ove
. You c
n
o

y
bout p
ying medic
l bills l
te
. You
he
lth t
kes p
io
ity.
ong>C
ll home ong>.
o
d t
ip
ccidents typic
lly h
ppen f f
om home,
y f
om you
suppo
t net
o
k. Fo
tun
tely,
e live in the
ge of const
nt communic
tion. T
ke
dv
nt
ge
nd c
ll/text/em
il
Skype/
h
t’s
pp
Zoom f
iends o
f
mily b
ck home
ight
y.
sk fo
help getting home if you need it. Then c
ll you
docto
’s office (o
h
ve someone do it fo
you)
nd
sk them to coo
din
te
ith the medic
l p
ovide
s
ho give you ce
fte
the csh.<
li>
ong>Connect
ith
<
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
tx/”>pe
son
l inju
y lye
> you c
n t
ust<
st
ong>. The f
ct is, getting into
eck on o
d t
ip c
n int
oduce
ll kinds of complic
tions you neve
pl
nned fo
. But do you kno

ho does pl
n fo
those
o
st-c
se scenios? C
ccident l

ye
s
ho spend thei
life fighting foccident victims.
e c
n do eve
ything in ou
po
e
to m
ke su
e you get the compens
tion
nd t
e
tment you dese
ve
hen something goes ong.<
li>

S fety On the o d<h2> S fety fist! Commit this to memo y befoe you o d tip gets unde y.

The Big “ ht If…”

Testimonials

Read More

S
fety On the
o
d<
h2>
S
fety fi
st! Commit this to memo
y befo
e you

o
d t
ip gets unde
y.

The Big “
h
t If…”