Road Trips USA wants you to have a safe and pleasurable adventure. We offer these tips on staying safe, saving money, how to avoid traffic and more.
1. To stay alert get plenty of sleep the night before you road trip. Have a good breakfast and take a thermos of coffee also. If you don't want to take a thermos my suggestion for great coffee is McDonald's, they have the best coffee of any fast food restaurant, it's cheap, and if you are a senior you can get it for 65 cents.
2. Make use of the many rest stops across the country. Take breaks when you need to, especially if you get sleepy. Also many rest stops on your car trip will have picnic tables and facilities in beautiful areas.
3. If you are not driving alone, have you companion share the driving responsibilities. This way both of you can take naps, do some route planning and even check on the driver to make sure he is not falling asleep. Don't ruin your road trip by getting into an accident
4. A GPS is a must. It will save time, gas and frustration. Today's models just talk to you and tell you where to turn and what direction to go in. You do not even have to look at the screen. Plus most models will tell you where specific places to eat are, gas stations, points of interests, motels, hotels, RV parks and much more.
5. I can almost assume that everyone has a laptop or smart phone these days. Use your devices to plan around inclement weather. Sometimes a minor detour can make your USA Road Trip a much more pleasurable experience. If you only have a lap top Verizon has several broadband plans for your mobile laptop for 1 day, 1 week or a month.
6. Another great road trip idea is to plan your route around major cities especially during rush hour. Many cities such as Phoenix have by-pass routes that go right around the outskirts of the city.
7. Bring a map! We love Microsoft Streets and Trips and check our routes with this software even before we depart, and of course our GPS is used on the road. But even still, my wife gets maps from the Auto Club which can come in very handy especially when your GPS can't find an address.
8. At the time of this post gas prices are around 3.00 a gallon, but I can assure you as the economy recuperates prices will go back up to the 5.00 range. This may dissuade you from your road trip America, but there is one thing you can do to save a ton of gas. JUST SLOW DOWN. The gas savings are enormous. I once drove from Las Vegas to Palm Springs in my gas guzzling GMC Yukon at 55 mph, a 280 mile trip on just a half tank of gas. Slow down, save lots of money.
9. Getting Hungry? Take a cooler and purchase all your favorite snacks, sandwiches or whatever at you favorite grocery store. DO NOT buy food at convenience stores on the road. You will spend twice as much, unnecessarily depleting your traveling funds. 10. Make sure you belong to so type of roadside assistance program. After all these years Auto Club is still the best but there are many more to choose from. Most insurance companies offer this service for just a few dollars more each policy period.
10. Make sure you belong to so type of roadside assistance program. After all these years the Auto Club is still the best but there are many more to choose from. Most insurance companies offer this service for just a few dollars more each policy period.
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