When you're traveling for the summer, the last thing you want to experience is an automobile accident that puts a damper on your fun. While your auto insurance agent will still be able to handle the claim for you over the phone, it's best to do everything you can to avoid putting yourself in this situation. While accidents can certainly happen, some smart preparation ahead of time will reduce your chance of finding yourself in a collision -- and having to spend part of your vacation dealing with the insurance claim. Here are some tips that can reduce your risk of having an accident on vacation.

Plan Your Driving Route In Advance

You'll often carry an increased risk of being in an accident if you're distracted with your GPS or a road map while you drive. You can limit this risk by devoting enough time to carefully planning your driving route before you leave home — and before you leave the hotel each morning. This means punching each of your stops into the GPS in a sequential order so that you won't have to do anything but follow the device's instructions.

Be Honest About How Long You Can Drive

When you're putting together your road trip plans, it's easy to be ambitious and think that you can drive 10 hours straight, for example. Even if you're excited about making it to your destination quickly, you need to have an honest assessment of your capabilities as a driver. Driving in short intervals is the best way to stay alert behind the wheel; when you drive for hours on end, it's easy to get sleepy — which will increase your risk of an accident and an insurance claim. Don't be too ambitious and, if possible, enact a plan to share the driving duties with a fellow traveler.

Stay Away From Holiday Weekends

If it's possible to book your vacation during an off-peak time, you'll have less of a risk of being in an accident on the road. Holiday weekends are often dangerous because the roads are packed with travelers, and many of them are racing to get either where they're going or back home. Take a look at the calendar when you're planning your upcoming vacation and see if it's possible to take your trip when the highways will be safer to navigate. This can often be the difference between a memorable trip and having to deal with an accident claim while you're away.

Talk to your insurance agent, such as at http://www.village-insurance.com, for more help.