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Tips For Road Trips
One of the great joys during the school holidays to going on the road trip with a bunch of good friends. Its no doubt great fun to explore the country on wheels; having to flexibility to stop whenever you chance upon somewhere interesting on the way to your intended destination. But things can go wrong to wreck your vacations, so here are some road trip tips to help you ensure your holiday goes according as planned.
State of mind
Yes, driving for 10 hours or so can be real boring and tiring. But road tripping is a state of mind. To truly enjoy it, you must embrace the philosophy of the road. Enjoy the fact that your vehicle is in your control, so take it wherever your heart desires. You do not stick strictly to your planned schedule. Instead, have a loose itinerary with guaranteed reservations. This way, there is no need to rush, and you can enjoy the flexibility of diverting a few hours to explore anything interesting that comes along.
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Planning
As with most things, having a plan before embarking on your journey is important. You do not want to drive around aimlessly or be caught in an unfamiliar place without accommodation for the night. So grab a map, and let a little planning take you a long way.
Consider your comfort level when it comes to traveling. Decide if you and your friends are the kind that needs to know that you have a reserved hotel room waiting for you at the end of the day, or are you comfortable with staying at any inn that comes along your way. Be sure to get the whole group’s opinions. Having a guaranteed reservation is ideal for those who want to save time, instead of pulling in and out of countless hotels looking for the last vacant room in the area due to an unexpected music festival; for those with health issues, preferring a clean and comfortable bed; for those with recreational preferences, wanting to stay at a campground with swimming facilities after a hot, summer drive; for those with limited funds, not desiring to be stuck shelling out a generous sum of cash for the last room; for those with particular taste in lodging, who sometimes find it difficult to sleep on a lumpy mattress; Having a guaranteed reservation will always give that extra peace of mind.
Next, plan your route. There might be many possible routes to your intended destination. There might be a festival or special event that would be interesting to see, or certain roads that might be closed seasonally. Spend time on the Internet getting to know the places along your route. There might be treasures waiting to be found! A good place to start planning for your route is www.whereis.com.au. This website can provide you with directions to any destination in Australia. If need be, talk to travel agents to get more information. The Vehicle
Your vehicle is of course a vital component of the road trip. Make sure it is road worthy before the trip. If you are renting a vehicle, make sure you rent from a reputable company. The car that you hire must be of reasonable condition. If you are driving your own car, get a mechanic to check all of the car’s vital components; the battery and the brakes. Top up all the fluid levels, check the tyre pressures and light bulbs. You do not want a break down half way through your trip to spoil the day.
It is also a good idea to bring along some emergency equipment to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Basic equipments that are good to have are first-aid kit, flashlight, blankets and jumper cables. Check the weather for your route and be prepared for wet weather or snow.
Now come the things to make your trip as comfortable as possible; Bring along your favorite CDs or MP3s. Also good to have are water, snacks, even pillows (they make snoozing at the back seat of a car so much more comfortable!!).
Safety
There is nothing more important than safety when embarking on a road trip. Thousands die and many more get injured each year in road accidents each year. Always keep these safety tips in mind:
Pay attention. As the driver, you are responsible for the lives of your passengers. So always pay attention and keep your focus on the road. Do not fidget with the radio or your mobile phone (get the front seat passenger to change the CD or radio station for you and use a hands-free microphone if you need to take phone calls). Look out for any hazards lurking on the roads such as pot holes, fallen trees/branches or animal carcasses (in Australia, there are relatively frequent cases of Kangaroos jumping onto roads and colliding into vehicles, especially at dusk. A high-speed collision with a full-grown kangaroo weighing up to 100kg can be fatal!!).
Also, you never know when other drivers on the roads take actions like cutting into your lane or braking suddenly. Hence the importance of staying alert and be prepared to take the necessary actions. In summary, always keep your eyes on the roads!
Don't speed. Speed limits are there for a reason. Speeding is the highest single cause of road fatalities. Driving at a faster speed reduces your reaction time on the road. At 50km/h, a vehicle travels 32m before coming to a complete halt. It means that, even if you were to hit your brakes immediately after spotting an obstacle, you would hit whatever AND WHEREVER was within that distance of you! It also causes more damage. The faster your speed, the greater the impact upon collision. Speeding not only increases the chances of you getting into an accident, but it also dramatically increases the likelihood of you sustaining serious injuries or even death.
Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you. Practice the 2-second rule. Use a stationary object, such as a lamppost, as your marker. Once the rear bumper of the car in front of you passes the marker, count "one thousand one, one thousand two". Your car should not reach the marker before or at the same time you count to "one thousand two". By keeping the minimum safe distance, you have more time to react should the driver in the car ahead make any unexpected movement or stop suddenly.
Don't drive impaired. Drivers can become impaired through not only drugs and alcohol, but also fatigue or as a result of injury or illness. Alcohol is a depressant that will diminish your ability with the first sip; acting on the very skills you need most as a driver—judgment, vision and the ability to perceive several things at once. We all have the obligation to make sure we are able to drive safely every time we drive.
Always take a break or change drivers after about 2 hours of driving. It keeps the driver fresh and alert. It is extremely dangerous to drive under fatigue. Take note of the following signs of fatigue:
- yawning
- poor concentration
- tired or sore eyes
- restlessness
- drowsiness
- slow reactions
- boredom
- feeling irritable
- making fewer and larger steering corrections
- missing road signs
- having difficulty in staying in the lane
- micro-sleeps
When you experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms, it is time to take a break. As the government advocates, Stop, Revive, Survive.
Wear your seat belt. Seat belts are the most significant safety device ever invented. They provide impact protection, absorb crash forces and keep you from being thrown out of the vehicle. Modern vehicles are built with “crumple zones,” and seat belts are an integral part of the system. Belts help keep you in your place, in control and better able to avoid a crash.
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Save Money of Fuel
With the ever-rising fuel prices, these are some tips that hopefully will help you save some money and keep the cost of your road trip down.
- Empty out your ride. Shed any unnecessary weight off the car. It might be a good idea to leave that stack of unreturned library books or the 50-pound bag of dog food at home before departure. Carrying more things in your car on long trips adds weight to your car and increases fuel consumption at a rate of 1 - 2 percent per 100 pounds. Lighten your load before traveling to save money.
- Choose an exit with several gas stations when traveling on the highway. You can usually tell these from the amenity signs on the highway leading up to the exit (the ones that list several fast food restaurants and gas stations. If the sign lists two or more stations, you will often benefit from the simple fact that there is competition for your business.
- When renting a car, do not return the car with a fuel level that is below that of the agreed level when you first collect your car. Car rental companies charge exorbitant prices per litre for any shortfall. Check for nearby gas stations prices on your way out of the airport/car rental zone just after you pick up the car (this is when you should be thinking about saving money, not when you are returning the car and are under time pressure to make a flight). That way, you know where to top up gas should you need to before returning the car. Even before booking the car from the rental company, you may want to do some research and make the fuel efficiency of your chosen vehicle a priority. You will be surprised how much you can save in fuel by getting a car with superior fuel efficiency. A good website to get this information from is www.fueleconomy.gov.
- When driving around, here are some things you can do to save on gas:
- Only use the grade of fuel you need. If your car does not require more expensive premium fuel, don't get it. Check your owner's manual before the next time you fill up. If your car only requires regular fuel, stick to that.
- Use your cruise control, especially on stretches of flat road. This will stop you from unconsciously speeding up and losing fuel.
- Ease into a stop. Slamming on your brakes wastes gas. When you see that you need to slow down, ease off the gas and onto the brakes smoothly.
- Use your air-conditioning. There is a popular myth that a car's air-conditioning wastes gas. This is only true at slower speeds or in stop-and-go traffic. Having the windows open while driving on the highway will on the contrary increase the drag on your car and force it to use more fuel to compensate.
- Keep your tires inflated. Letting the air get low will force your car to work harder and use more gas.
- When searching for parking spaces, drive to the first obviously available spot and walk, no matter how far from the entrance. A recent study found that, when searching for parking spaces, people lose the most time and burn up the most fuel by trying too hard to get too close to the entrance of the store, restaurant or hotel they are visiting. Not only that, they found that the harder you tried to park up close, the longer you waited overall!
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