Five Mom Inspired Driving Tips

I've been in 5 wrecks in my life, each and every one were before I had my kids. Becoming a mom obviously changes a lot about you, including how you drive. After having my daughter I had this awareness that I didn't have before, not only was I responsible for my safety, but a V.I.P.'s safety too. There are many things that you can do to prevent wrecks, accidents, and being stranded. Here are my top 5 mom inspired driving tips!

1. Fill the tank up! I don't like to let my gas get in low in fear of being stuck somewhere with my babies and having to walk with them to get gas. I always fill it back up when it gets to the half way point so I know we will be fine. It's also a plus that if we have to hop in the car to get somewhere quickly, I won't have to worry about stopping to put gas in the car.

2. Get a baby mirror! Having a mirror that sits right above my rear view mirror has helped me stop fights, helped my know when my son was choking on something, and helped me see that I needed to turn the radio down because the kiddos were about to fall asleep. I don't have to turn around when driving and endanger us and I can see what my two monkeys are up to.

3. Learn about your vehicle. Before my daughter, I couldn't even tell you where to check the oil in my car. I had to learn the hard way once because as pitiful as it sounds I didn't even know how to change a tire. My daughter and I got stuck on the side of the highway once for almost 2 hours because of a blow out. I learned that day how to change a tire, and now we will never be stuck because of that again.

4. Keep up on Maintenance. My dad used to always tell me how important it was to get my oil changed regularly, to get my tires rotated, on and on and on. I always listened but never really did it! Keeping up on maintenance cuts down on costs in the long run, unfortunately that was another lesson learned for me.

5. Buckle UP! Probably the most important one here! If you buckle up in front of your kids it makes them more likely to remember to do it too and it becomes a life long habit, and it could possibly save them one day. It's gotten to the point that if I should happen to forget, my daughter reminds me before we are out of our neighborhood.

Driving with kids has been a game changer for me. I'm much more observant and way less reckless, and I know that some of the things I do are keeping my kids out of danger! These are my top 5 mom inspired driving tips. Feel free to add yours in the comments below!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”