Whether you're crossing the river and through the woods or flying to join family or friends for the holidays, there are hazards to consider before you leave.
Follow these holiday travel safety precautions to make sure your time away from home isn't marred by unanticipated problems:
Thinking of Flying?
Maintain your composure. So far this year, the Federal Aviation Administration has received almost 6,300 reports of rowdy passengers and launched 1,582 investigations. Interfering with crew members is against the law and can result in penalties and criminal prosecution, so keep your cool. Also, if others are losing theirs, try not to get involved. If you can't, try to alleviate the situation with empathic language.
Home Security
Installing a security system is a good idea. Nobody hates to return home to find their home has been broken into. Installing a security system, particularly one that feeds you real-time information or alerts a central monitor, can help deter would-be burglars and guarantee that any attempted burglary is dealt with quickly.
High Tech Homes
Smart sensors should be installed on your water lines. These smart-home systems can avoid water damage by detecting unusual water activity (such as when a pipe freezes and bursts) and shutting off your water automatically. When you're not available to manually turn off the water, a smart sensor can be really useful.
Put your mail on hold or have a neighbor collect it for you. Consider delaying mail delivery for the days you'll be gone (which you can do on the USPS website or asking a neighbor to bring it inside every few days to signal to thieves that no one is home.
If It Snows
If necessary, hire a shoveling service. Consider hiring a shoveling service while you're away if you live in a region where it snows frequently. This ensures that you'll be able to find a parking spot when you get home and that you're not broadcasting your absence to would-be robbers.