With the majority of the student body traveling home for Thanksgiving break, The Tack felt it would be important to share some helpful tips about traveling. We sat down with Director of Campus Security Craig Mihaljevich to talk about travel safety tips for students.

TIP 1:  The first tip is focused on what to do when leaving campus. When you leave on a break, make sure all valuables/documents are secured while you are gone. While most of the BV community is gone on the break, this could present the opportunity for someone to sneak in to your room. To prevent any possible theft, make sure your room is locked and that all valuables are out of sight and put in a secure spot.

TIP 2:  The second tip is geared toward flights. While you are packing for your flight, take a minute of your time to take a photo of your license and/or passport on your phone and also make a hard copy and keep it on your person. It never hurts to have copies. You could also take another copy of your license and black out your driver’s license number. Add your phone number to the back of the copy and put it in your luggage. This could act as a backup luggage tag in case the original tag falls off your luggage and your luggage gets lost.

If you are traveling by car this winter, there are five different tips to keep in mind.

1. The first being check your tire pressure. In colder temperatures, the air in your tires contracts, resulting is less air pressure which can affect your car’s traction, and durability during the winter months.
2. The second tip is to have at least a half full tank of gas. A full tank of gas is preferred, however, because condensation can occur in the empty part of your tank. Through that formation, ice can then form in your fuel lines causing your car to not start.
3. Third, have jumper cables, an extra blanket, water and a shovel in your trunk. One never knows when an accident might happen or you might be waiting for a tow. During either case, it’s always wise to have supplies.
4. Fourth, check your wipers and wiper fluid because a clean windshield is vital for visibility.
5. Finally, when you go home, look into if you have towing coverage. If you do not, most coverage plans cost $15-$20 more to add to an insurance plan. To have towing coverage can make the stress of needing a tow much simpler and saves money in the long run because you pay the flat $15 fee at the beginning of the year rather than paying for the actual towing fee.

ONE LAST TIP:  The final tip of this week’s list is to update your ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact number on your phone. If for some reason something was to happen where the authorities or someone found your phone and needed to call an emergency contact, they would have that available.

Check back before Christmas break to learn more safety tips from The Tack and BVU Campus Security.