Don't crack up on Easter drive

Just a second's lapse could turn your holiday trip into a disaster.

Multi-award winning singer-songwriter and 'bstreetsmart' program ambassador, Morgan Evans is encouraging drivers to drive to survive these school holidays. Despite being a responsible driver, 28-year-old Morgan experienced a near-miss in 2008 while driving home from the Byron Bay Bluesfest to Newcastle with his girlfriend at the time.

"Literally, in the blink of an eye, I was out," says Morgan. "I was asleep while driving at 110 kilometres an hour with cruise control on a winding country road at 4.30 in the morning. It mustn’t have been long that I was asleep but I woke up to a massive crash. I slammed on the brakes as soon as I came to and checked my girlfriend."

"I looked back and we’d gone across the other side of the road, just missed a telegraph pole, flown off the embankment, over the drainage at the side of the road, straight through a barbed wire fence and gone 50 metres through a paddock," continues Morgan.

‘It was a miracle,’ says Morgan. ‘We should have died about five different ways that night but we both walked away. It was a horrendous night. It’s a night I think about most times I get in a car.’

With many drivers embarking on long journeys in the upcoming Easter school holidays, the Newcastle based bstreetsmart ambassador is keen to remind drivers to take it easy on the roads – especially on longer journeys.

Organisers of the bstreetsmart youth road safety awareness program, Julie Seggie and Stephanie Wilson are also passionate about sharing the message. Both women are trauma coordinators at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital which had 3,918 trauma admissions in 2013.

"Education is key," says Stephanie. "We need to remind drivers before they get behind the wheel to take precautions. The more we can educate drivers, the less trauma admissions we’ll have."

bstreetsmart organisers suggest the following five reminders for drivers heading out on long journeys:

Prepare your car 

Have it serviced and check that you're prepared for emergencies with a blanket, torch and first aid kit. Enter any information in to your in-car navigation system before you set off and put your phone in the boot to avoid driver distraction.

Prepare yourself

Be rested before a long drive, plan the trip so you share the driving and factor in regular breaks to avoid fatigue.

Prepare your passengers

If you have children in the car ensure they are in the appropriate child restraint. If you're travelling with pets make sure they are restrained - for everybody's safety. Ask the person in the passenger seat to also stay alert and take care of things that could cause distraction such as changing music or assisting children in the car.

Be aware of the signs of fatigue

Have a 15 minute rest every two hours. Keep an eye out for the signs of driver fatigue: yawning, sweaty hands, tired eyes, poor concentration, restlessness, drowsiness, boredom, slow reactions and oversteering.

Take it easy

Be mindful of the distance between your car and the car in front. Keep a minimum three seconds gap between you and the car in front. When it's raining and/or foggy double the distance to six seconds no matter what speed you're doing.

This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott