Are you planning a trip with your family and need to use a rental car? Be sure you brush up on these five car safety tips to avoid a disaster. 

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You should not jump in a rental car and drive off as soon as you get the keys. You should do some due diligence before you take off on your vacation. 

CoverTrip offers these steps before leaving the rental lot: 

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Leave the directions to the built-in navigation system in your rental car or the GPS app on your phone like Waze or Google Maps. Getting lost in a strange town is easy, but navigation systems can make it easy to stay on track. Even if you make a wrong turn, the GPS can adjust and redirect you to where you need to be going. This can help prevent you from pausing and looking at a physical map or depending on a passenger to direct you. Bring a portable phone mount on your trip so you can easily install it in your rental car. 

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The Miami-Dade Government recommends you check your rental car for “stickers, advertisements, or other insignias that identify your vehicle as a rental car.” These types of car adornments can alert thieves that you are from out of town and possibly an easy target. 

Many newer models of rental cars allow you to connect your phone to it. You might want to think twice about connecting your phone. 

According to USA Today, connecting your phone to the rental car via Bluetooth can put your personal information at risk. When connecting your phone, you will often be asked to sync your contacts, leaving your contacts, most recent phone calls, and other pieces of information behind in the rental car’s system.  

Using the onboard navigation system leaves a trail of where you’ve been, and you never know what someone with bad intentions can do with that information. 

If you have to connect your phone to the rental car, be sure to allow enough time before returning it to wipe the car’s system of your information. You can figure out how to do this by referencing the car’s owner’s manual. 

A rental car does not offer a special layer of safety that your personal vehicle does not provide. So, you still need to use those safety belts. Make sure that all your passengers are aware of the expectations for seat belt usage. 

You also need to make sure your smaller children have proper car seats. If you can handle the extra luggage, it is best to bring your own car seat. Using your own car seat ensures that you know the history of that car seat. If you can’t bring your own seat, the rental company should provide one. Install the car seat properly before leaving the rental lot. 

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