essay on safe travel

safe travel

These days, we Geeks don’t travel anywhere without our laptops. It’s a given that we need to have them on us! How would we survive?! Thankfully, Seth sent in the following tips to help us keep them safe while we are on the road.

Pad The Laptop: Make sure the laptop bag or carrying case you transport your laptop in provides adequate padding. As you move about the airport or shove the laptop under the seat in front of you or into the overhead storage compartment, the laptop can be jarred and jostled quite a bit.
Keep It On You: It is not uncommon for someone to set their luggage down while standing in line for a muffin, or to sit down while waiting for a flight. With all luggage, it is important to keep an eye on it and ensure nobody tampers with it or steals it. Because of their size and value though, laptops make prime targets and a thief can snatch the laptop bag and keep walking while you are unaware with your back turned. You should keep the laptop bag on your shoulder or keep it in sight at all times.
Back Up Data: Perform a backup of all critical or sensitive data before departing. Just in case your laptop does become damaged or lost, you don’t want to also lose your important files and information. You can buy a new laptop, but it is much harder to replace lost data.
Encrypt Your Data: Just in case your laptop should fall into unauthorized hands, you should make sure your hard drive is encrypted. Laptops with Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate come equipped with BitLocker drive encryption. If you aren’t using one of these versions of Windows Vista, and your company has not implemented any other sort of enterprise-wide encryption solution, you can use an open source solution such as TrueCrypt to protect your data.

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Before you get in to your destination, you should consider the following:

It's always a good idea to check your foreign ministry's travel advisory for your destination, before setting off. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK, theDepartment of Foreign Affairs & Trade in Australia and the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the U.S., are excellent sources of current information, even if you are not a citizen of those countries. In addition, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security runs a Web site for the Overseas Security Advisory Council. Most OSAC content is members-only, but OSAC's Web site does have publicly available Crime and Safety Reports for nearly all countries (and in some instances, multiple cities within a country). These reports are updated each year and include vivid details of current crime trends in each country.
Consider whether you're going to arrive during a good season weather-wise. For example, tropical storms can be a danger in various areas (hurricanes in the Caribbean area and southern United States, typhoons in Asia, especially along the coast from Vietnam to Japan) especially in hot weather, and tornadoes, sometimes called "twisters" can pose a danger to travelers in some parts of the world (especially in the United States), most often in spring and summer.
War zones or former war zones, often called hostile environments, are not the most obvious places for non-essential travel, but with the right preparation and experience they can provide the intrepid traveller with a unique experience. However, no one should visit a country in this category without seriously considering the risks and how to mitigate them. Tourists can be just as much a target of hostility as any military force. Indeed, tourists could be regarded as a soft target since they do not have the backup of a large organisation. In recent times, tourists have been targeted in Afghanistan, Egypt and Kenya.
Before travelling to a wild, remote area, consider that, in a world of 7 billion people, there's probably a reason why this area is uninhabited. Consider the risks, including wild animals and temperature swings, ensure you pack so as to be able to meet any likely difficulty (it may be difficult to summon help) and ensure that someone knows exactly where you plan to go and when you plan to be back.
When traveling, never let your bags out of your sight, especially when you are crossing international borders. Do not offer to carry anything for another person unless you trust them absolutely. You could find yourself being used as a drug carrier without your knowledge, which will land you in a great deal of trouble. Unattended bags can also attract attention from authorities wary of bomb threats.
When arriving at an unfamiliar destination, try to arrive during the day, if possible, rather than trying to find your way around at night.
Consider local laws on homosexuality or age of consent that may have legal repercussions for you.

[edit]Get around

When on a bus or train:

Stay near the driver/conductor/guard.

When riding in a taxi:

Use licensed cabs, rather than private cars (gypsy cabs), even though they might be slightly more expensive.
Always make sure the driver has turned on the meter if there is one, or negotiate the fare before the trip starts if there isn't.
When riding alone, sit behind the driver where it is more difficult for him to threaten or harm you.

When using a car:

Don't drink and drive.
Be aware of local traffic laws and regulations and follow them.
Keep the car locked, including the trunk/boot—thieves can snatch bags at the traffic lights.
Keep mobile phones, valuables out of sight—travel insurance may not cover items left in cars.
Park in well lit places with no cover around the car—if there are bushes etc. thieves can work on the locks out of sight.
Before getting into your car, check the back seat to ensure no-one's hiding there.
Consider extending your insurance to cover all costs of window/windscreen replacement; it's not uncommon for thieves to just smash the glass to get in.

When walking:

Orient yourself with a map before setting out, and take local advice on undesirable areas to walk in.

[edit]Mode of transport

The safest mode of transport depends on the country, and the trip particulars, and it can be very difficult to do a fair comparison. Statistics comparing forms of travel are usually given by distance travelled and not by time, and are crowded by urban mythology.

In western countries motorcoach, train and airplane accidents are a very unlikely way to be injured or killed while travelling.