You’ve heard the warnings before, probably hundreds of times.

When traveling during holiday weekends, be even more cautious on the roads, which will be busier than usual.

With members of our community mourning the recent death of a teen involved in a one-vehicle accident, the message of being mindful behind the wheel speaks louder than usual and prompts all of us to reassess our potentially dangerous driving habits we probably don’t even think about.

Maybe it’s a quick text to a friend to let her know you’re on the way to meet her at the gym. Maybe you take your eyes off the road for two seconds to hand something to your kids in the backseat. Maybe you’re fumbling with a playlist on your iPhone or digging through your briefcase for a pen or trying to grab the debit card that just fell in your floorboard.

We all do these things, probably every day. And we think nothing of it because we’ve learned to multi-task behind the wheel when things get hectic.

And they’re always hectic.

We urge everyone traveling this weekend to make the same assessment and avoid juggling distractions on the road just because we’ve gotten away with it this long without getting hurt.

We owe it to ourselves, our families and our community to put safety first every single day.