Put the phone away while driving home

Ferry car queue phoneCars queuing up for the ferry. Photo: Pixabay.com

Put the phone away while driving home for Christmas

Stress down, let your mobile phone lie and pack your Christmas gifts and other stuff safely in your car, is the resounding call from Safe Traffic and NAF before the large exodus.

 

Friday and Saturday are the busiest on the roads.

“We ask people who are out and about to have an active ear to reports on roads and driving conditions. Plan your trip and check for messages en route. Pave the way for safe and smooth traffic. We want everyone to travel safely back and forth this Christmas, says Birte Roverudseter at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

On vegvesen.no you find traffic announcements with an overview of queues, obstacles and recommended bypass routes.

On Friday morning it is reported of convoys due to bad weather over both Haukelifjell and Hardangervidda. Sognefjellet closed for the winter earlier this week.

– Do not bring Christmas stress with you to the traffic. Breathe with your stomach and focus on the road. An accident-free Christmas is more important than saving a few seconds, chief executive officer in Safe Traffic, Tori Grytli states, before people get into their cars to drive home for Christmas.

Parcels

When the car is to be filled to the plimsol mark with Christmas presents and luggage, it can have serious consequences if you do not pack the car properly.

– Loose items in the car can simply have deadly consequences. In case of an accident or sudden stop, such objects become dangerous. Therefore, make sure things such as iPads, cell phones, drinking bottles and other items are not loose inside the car. Loose objects must be placed in the glove compartment or under the seat, says Grytli.

SMS

No response to text messages while you are driving, sounds the advice from NAF.

If you use 23 seconds to write a short text message, you drive over half a kilometre without focusing on the road when the speed is 80 kilometres per hour.

As of January 1st, you can get two dots in your driver’s license if you break the mobile use ban while driving.

– Leave your mobile alone and enjoy your journey with your family. Stress down and follow the road, so we all have a nice time for the festivities, Communications manager in NAF, Camilla Ryste, concludes.

For those travelling by plane, it’s okay to know that Friday is the busiest day with almost 100,000 travellers at Oslo Airport. For the rest, traffic is spread over many days.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today