30 Jul 2014
Posted by Miriam O'Neill 
Here we offer some quick tips to help make sure your bank holiday driving is hassle free.
DOS:
1. DO check your lights, oil, coolant levels, windscreen wiper fluid, tyre pressure and thread depth before you hit the road. There is quite a bit of rain forecast for the weekend so roads will be slippery.
2. DO keep to the speed limit, make sure all on board wear their seat belts and put your phone away . As and from this Friday penalty points for these offenses will increase to 3 and Gardaí will be out in force.
3.DO check where the rest stops are along the motorway and have plenty of fuel in your tank. Every bank holiday weekend the AA attends up to a dozen red faced motorists who have completely run out of fuel. Don’t cut it fine as you could get caught in a bank holiday tailback.
This weekend traffic is expected to be busy in Galway for the Races on Thursday and Friday. The Pride Parade in Cork City and the All Ireland Football Quarter-Finals in Croke Park both on Sunday are also expected to cause delays
4. DO pull over and take a 15 minute nap and grab a coffee if you’re feeling tired. Better again get someone else to drive if you can.
5. DO stop for regular water breaks if taking your four legged friend away with you. Dogs have a higher body temperature than us humans and can’t cool down as efficiently either.
DONTS:
1. DON’T leave left over picnic food in your car. An AA Patrol was recently called to a camper van infested by rats attracted by an open packet of biscuits. The van wouldn’t start as the rats had chewed through the wiring looms, gromets and had even made a nest on the stock mounts.
2. DON’T put the wrong fuel in your car. It’s far more common for someone to put petrol in a diesel engine rather than the other way around and is a bank holiday driving classic. One customer the AA attended last week had their new car less than a day with only 200km on the clock when they accidentally put petrol in their diesel engine. Prior to buying her new car she’d religiously driven petrol cars.
3. DON’T get stuck in sand or mud. This advice is directed specifically at Castlepalooza and Indiependence festival goers. Again there’s rain forecast for the weekend so AA Patrols will be on standby with their wellies around Charleville Castle in Tullamore and Mitchelstown in Cork.
4. DON’T drive home if you’re still over the limit or severly hung-over the morning after the night before. The range of symptoms that arise from a hangover such as headaches, light headedness, nausea, thirst, lethargy and a decreased attention span can significantly impair your ability to drive and can make you potentially as dangerous as an intoxicated driver.
5. DON’T forget to take your key fob out of your pocket if going for a dip in the sea. The AA share they had a few of these callouts during the July heat wave.
