5 Essential Road Travel Tips You Might Not Know

When you are getting ready for a road trip or just regular commuting travel on the road to and from work, it is important that you follow these tips so that you can always be prepared. Preparation doesn't mean the bad things won't happen or that you won't accidentally get a flat tire or get lost. Instead, preparation just means that when those events take place, you don't panic because you know what steps to follow, who to call, or what to do next.

5 Essential Road Travel Tips You Might Not Know

Be smart about gas and stops

No matter where you are driving, the most essential road travel trip is to be very cognizant of your gas mileage and the number of stops to make. Just because you think you are able to drive 4 or 5 hours without stopping while draining the entirety of your gas tank doesn't mean it's a smart decision.  Firstly, the more breaks you take, the more likely you are to remain alert as the driver and to avoid things like blood clots or fatigue. Secondly, you should always maintain around a quarter of a tank or at least keep a few extra gallons of gas in the bed of your vehicle if you can; when you are in a new location you never know when you are next likely to hit a gas station and more importantly, you never know when there will be an accident or construction on the road that leads you idling for a few unexpected hours. 

Change your GPS

When you are heading out on the road, whether it is to and from work over a long commute or on a road trip, or just to visit family, exercise caution with your GPS. This means that you don't put your actual home address in the GPS. Chances are you know how to get home from a certain point on the road no matter the direction you are traveling. If you live two streets away from a grocery store, put the address of the grocery store in your GPS under “home”.  Similarly, before you head off on a road trip to your hotel, put in addresses that are nearby but not the exact Hotel. Most of the time he won't pay attention to the specific GPS directions once you are a few blocks away from the hotel because you'll either be able to see it or you'll be too busy in a crowded city intersection trying to find the parking lot.  In any of these situations, changing the address gives you an extra layer of security on the off chance that your vehicle is stolen or broken into. If you have a vehicle mounted GPS, even having that stolen can put you at risk for subsequent burglary if your home address is your actual home address.

Have a first aid kit 

Having a first aid kit seems simple enough. Most people have a generic First Aid kit which they purchased from a store but they haven't actually checked it before heading out on the road and they haven't added anything to it. The type of first aid kit you keep ready for road travel should be different than a run-of-the-mill store-bought box. That is something you keep in your house for when you get a cut or house in your purse when someone has a headache. Your road travel first aid kit should be something that is a bit more robust, a bit more like a go bag or something you would turn to for medical survival over the course of a few days.  If you already have a first-aid kit and you've had it for some time, you will want to make sure before you head out on the road at any point that the medicines are not expired.  If you have specific medical conditions, maybe you have an inhaler for your asthma or an EpiPen for your bee allergies, those are things that you should keep on the road with you when you head out. Your doctor might be able to give you extra that you can have in your car only first aid kit.

Tell someone where you are going

Just the same as when you travel anywhere else besides your regular errands, it is important that you tell someone where you're going. If you are going on a road trip, you don't necessarily have to tell them every little place you plan to stop or every site you plan to see, something that you might not want to do for security purposes, but it is good for you to let a close family member or friend no certain checkpoints are milestones along the course of your trip.  For example: Let them know in which city you plan to check in or simply along which highway you plan to drive. Tell them that you will check in at certain intervals but if they don't hear from you, they can contact the authorities and inform police or Emergency Services on which street to look for your vehicle.

Always Be Prepared on the Road

Finally, you need to always be prepared on the road. Preparation takes many forms, including the first aid kit already discussed. Preparation extends to things like knowing how to get a hold of simple car roadside assistance when you are traveling or having a professional ready to issue locksmith emergency services in the event you lock your car while en route. Being able to text local services and have someone on hand will help alleviate a great deal of distress and anxiety that are typically associated with situations where unexpected things take place.
Image credit: Depositphotos