“Carry at least $50 cash in small bills with you at all times.”
The Essential Spring Break Safety Checklist
Here are some essential spring break personal safety tips to help you have a fun and safe vacation:
✔️Don’t Book a Ground Floor Hotel Room
Choose a room that’s on the second floor or above when making your hotel reservation. Most ground floor rooms have easier access for attackers or thieves to enter through a window or sliding glass door that is at ground level.
Having two access points (the front door and back windows) also makes the location a more lucrative target than a room with just one entrance and exit.
✔️Schedule a Complete Auto Safety Check
✔️Pack an Auto Emergency Survival Bag
“Leave duplicates of your important documents with a friend at home. This is your lifeline if anything bad happens.”
✔️Establish Your Life Line
Select a trusted friend or relative and leave a copy of your photo ID, auto insurance info, credit cards you are travelling with, hotel address and phone number along with your general itinerary so someone at home has a way to help you if something happens on Spring Break.
Make a second copy of these important documents and put them in an envelope. When you arrive at your hotel, put these documents in the room's safe for extra protection. Having backups will help if your wallet is lost or stolen.
✔️Carry a Non-Lethal Self-Defense Weapon
✔️Utilize Hotel Guest Security Services
Carry a business card from the front desk of the hotel in your wallet so that you have the hotel’s address and phone number with you when you are off the resort property. Put the info in your phone as well. This way, if your wallet or phone are stolen you can still get in touch with the hotel for assistance.
✔️Use the Buddy System
It goes without saying that using the buddy system is always a good idea to reduce the risk of being a victim of crime. Keep an eye out for each other and never, ever leave without the friends you arrived with.
✔️Choose a Safety Word
Have a “safety word” established amongst your friends so that everyone knows, this word, means I need help immediately.
✔️Rotate Dry Days
Always have one friend in your group who stays sober and rotate days so each of you has days that you can fully participate in libations and a day off to rehydrate and recoup. This way one friend will always be sober and ready to respond quickly in case of an accident or emergency.
✔️Guard Your Drink from Drugs
Purchase a box of drink test strips so that you can test your drinks to be sure they have not been tampered with. Even if you don’t drink alcohol your drink can be drugged. One drop of liquid on the test strip will reveal if your drink is safe or if date rape drugs have been detected.
✔️Remain Socially Cautious
If you're meeting up with new friends that you've met on Spring Break, it's best to do so in the hotel lobby. For your safety, never give out your hotel name or room number to anyone.
Be aware of who, what and where you are tagging on social media while away from home. This will not only keep you safer while on vacation, it will also keep your home from being a possible target to burglars trolling social media for an easy pick.
✔️Carry Cash and Phone Numbers
Whether you are on a road trip or not, always carry a minimum of $50 cash in small bills with you in case an emergency occurs and paying with a credit card is not an option. We recommend 10- $1bills, 4- $5 bills and 2- $10 bills.
It's a good idea to have a small business card with your emergency contacts on it in your wallet, in case you're ever in an accident or need medical assistance. Be sure to include any relevant medical information, such as diabetes or allergies. This will help ensure that you get the care you need as quickly as possible.
✔️Use a Dry Erase Marker
Pack a dry erase marker for your trip and use it on the bathroom mirror to communicate important info. If you are leaving, write where you are going, what time you are leaving and what time you expect to return.
✔️Special Safety Tips for Spring Break Out of the Country
If you are leaving the country for Spring Break, there are a few additional things that are vital to your safety abroad.
o Learn how to yell for help in the native language of the country you are visiting.
o Learn the 911 equivalent phone number for the country you are visiting.
o Carry the phone number, location and email address of the U.S. Embassy with you at all times.
o Register for the S.T.E.P. Program before travelling abroad.
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service that allows U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. This enrollment allows the embassy to contact you in an emergency and helps family and friends get in touch with you while you are overseas.
Keep these spring break personal safety tips in mind to have a fun and safe vacation. Remember to share this with your friends so they can stay safe too!
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