If you’re carpooling with families in your neighborhood, you’re doing the environment and your pocketbook a huge favor. The economic, environmental and practical benefits of carpooling are hard to overlook, so there’s little reason not to do so if you have the option.

But you can do a few things to make sure your neighborhood carpool continues to run smoothly throughout the school year. Follow these tips and you’ll reap all the benefits from carpooling without adding unnecessary hassles:

1. Organization is key

Before you get started, set up a schedule with interested families and determine what days and times work best for each party. Make sure the responsibility is distributed evenly. Keep in mind that carpools work best when the families live within a few minutes of each other. If you still need help, set up a carpooling schedule at www.dividetheride.com.

2. Make an emergency contact list

Hopefully you’ll never need this list, but you’ll feel much more comfortable having it. After a schedule is established, create an emergency contact list including names of parents, children, addresses and phone numbers. Feel free to include a list of safe driving tips that address specific points of concern in our neighborhood, like a dangerous uncontrolled intersection, or areas where kids tend to play near the street.

3. Factor in extracurricular activities

If your kids are active in after-school programs, consider carpooling with families whose children are also involved in similar programs.

4. Teach car safety

Before you start carpooling, you can have a discussion with your kids about being safe in the car, such as not screaming, buckling safety belts and being courteous to the other passengers. If you have a teen on the verge of driving, use the opportunity to teach him or her about driving with passengers in the car. It may also be a good time to begin your search for teen auto insurance quotes. By comparing packages online or working with your agent, you should be able to come across a deal that is to your liking.

5. Don’t be late

Make sure your child is ready to go before the parent who is driving arrives at your house. Also, you should avoid having long conversations with the driver. Everyone is rushed in the morning and it’s not fair to make other parents wait or be late because you were talking. Parents picking children up from school should also be on time, so as not to disturb the other families’ after-school activities schedules.

6. Keep your child in the loop

Make sure your child knows exactly who is picking him or her up every day. It is also wise to let your child’s teacher know if there are going to be multiple people picking him/her up from school each morning, so they know your child isn’t leaving with a stranger.