A road trip seems like the simplest of all vacations. You can pretty much choose a schedule on the fly and linger in a place for as long or short as you like. You’re free to plan your trip to the minute or go with the flow and see where the road takes you.
There is one point when planning is absolutely necessary. Before your trip begins you have to have a plan to make sure that your trip does go off without a hitch so it is safe and enjoyable. This requires some though at least a month or so before the trip is set to begin.
To make sure you get the most out of your trip we put together a guide on how to plan your trip before your road trip to stay safe and have fun.
Practice safe driving
You may have been driving for decades and feel like you don’t need to practice driving with safety in mind. The truth is that over the years you surely have forgotten alot of defensive driving techniques or accumulated some bad habits.
You should brush up on some driver safety tips because you are going to be behind the wheel for hours on end. Take the driving part of the road trip seriously and check out some adult driver’s ed classes so you can be as safew as possible. Approvedcourse.com/adult-drivers-ed-online/ offers courses online so you can relearn from home and in your own time.
You’re responsible for trying to prevent an accident even if the othjer driver would be at fault. Make sure to have some good driving habits formed before you hit the road.
Have your car inspected
There is that unwritten law that anything that can go wrong will. Well, when you are out on the road and your car is working for many hours per day then the chances of something going wrong increase.
There may be a hose that is leaking somewhere or a part is getting worn. The last thing you want is for these things to give out while you are in the middle of nowhere. Go to your mechanic and have them do a once over and make sure that everything is working as it should. Even if you have a new car it should be inspected as you never know.
If you have been hearing any funny noises recently then this is a great sign that you need to bring it in. however, even if everything seems fine, you should still have it checked out.
There are things you can do to make sure it is road ready without bringing it to a mechanic, too. Look through your owner’s manual and make sure that the tires are at the recommended pressure. Do a once over and check for lights that are out, or even dim. You should also make sure to lighten any headlights that have an opaqueness to them from age so they are as bright as they should be.
Have an emergency kit
Make sure to have some backups of the fluids that you need as you never know when you may need them and not be able to go out and buy them. Motor oil, brake fluid and the like should be on hand in your trunk just in case.
In addition, make sure that you have your tire iron and car jack working and lubed up so you can change a tire easily. Then, jumper cables and a battery charger in case you forget to turn the lights off.
Lastly, a first aid kit is essential. Add some other items besides the obvious, too. A change of clothes and warm blanket will help in case you get stuck in your car. Even some extra water is a good idea.
Plan your route
It’s understandable that you want to be spontaneous and not have too much a plan. That’s one of the beautiful things about road trips. However, you do need to have some sort of foundation of a plan in place before you set out.
There are some areas of the country where there are not many gas stations. You could fins yourself running out of gas if you haven’t planned appropriately. Have an idea of where you may find yourself on a given day and plan fill ups accordingly.
Also, have an idea of how far you will be driving in a day and make sure that you have a place to stay within that distance. If you don’t plan your lodging well, you could end up needing to sleep in your car which is not recommended.
