Nothing beats the classic American road trip. There’s just something about long car rides that makes it the perfect prelude to an amazing and exciting vacation. Long road trips can be a blast, yes. But not much when you are older. They can actually be boring and of course, exhausting! But don’t worry, here are 10 tips to make sure you stay sane and alive on your next road trip.
1. Visit your Doctor first.
Before anything else, you have to check with your Physician to ensure that you are fit and ready for long car rides. If you have maintenance medications, have them complete and with extra just in case. Also have your doctor prescribed emergency medications and have them ready with you.
2. Check and clean your vehicle before your trip.
For obvious reasons, make sure to have your mechanic check your car’s fluid levels, brakes, tires or anything that might cause problems. Make sure that your spare tire is fully inflated and you have the jumper cables and other necessary car items handy. You’ll be driving for hours or even days, so please throw out all the junk in your car – candy wrappers, napkins, receipts or even dog hair.
3. Have a clean record and prepare all documents and ahead of time.
You don’t want your car to be impounded in the middle of the road, right? So if you have pending traffic and parking tickets, make sure to settle them before you hit the road. Also, have all the documents updated and ready – current documentation of license, registration and insurance cards.
4. Plan your route.
Plan your route carefully and choose the safest one. I know that shortcuts are tempting but it’s better to stick to major roads to prevent turning these shortcuts into “long-cuts”. If you and your passenger/s are planning to take turns, decide before leaving who is going to drive where and how long.
5. Control yourself from giving unsolicited driving advice.
It’s not the time to nag or correct someone’s driving. It will just make the trip more stressful, annoying and exhausting.
6. Watch what you eat before your trip.
If you have any dietary issues like allergies or digestive problems, make sure that you don’t eat foods that can trigger the problem.
7. Take at least 2-3 days-worth of food and water.
You’ll never know what will happen on the road so it’s best to just stock up on dried or easy to open food items and drinks that you can munch on unexpected situations.
8. Make sure to have a complete emergency bag ready.
Like I said, you’ll never know what’s going to happen so have an emergency bag ready – complete with safety tools, first aid kit, flashlights, survival assistance essentials and more. Here’s a 90-piece emergency roadside kit that you can get from Amazon. Perfect for your next roadtrip.
9. Wear comfortable, hard-soled shoes with compression stockings.
Protect your feet by using the right type of shoes and also avoid blood clot by wearing compression stockings to promote good blood circulation.
10. Stretch every time you make your stops.
Take stops as an opportunity to do stretching exercises that is very helpful for blood flow and preventing cramps. You’ll thank yourself for it!
