Handy Tips for Road trips

1. PLAN well
• Choose feasible & preferred route/s from online directions; Print 2 copies
• Calculate drive duration, make drive plans accordingly.
• Plan breaks ahead with passengers. No unnecessary breaks; except for photography
• Roughly plan how co-drivers share the drive

2. PACK well (Remember these Key items)
• Road Map
• GPS
• Water/Electrolyte
• Cell Phone
• Sunglasses
• Snacks
• Car chargers
• Camera & Camcorder
• Toiletries, Towel for 2+ days

3. DRIVE well
• Be cautious/fueled
• SPEED 5-10 mph depending on conditions
• Remember your Road-side Assistance Number
• Enjoy the drive

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Thanks for sharing your road trip tips with us, it's quite unusual for a first post !

Whereas your "plan well" tips are useful and appreciated, they seem to more in touch with getting from A to B as quickly as possible rather than taking a road trip of discovery. I like to allow a reasonable amount of time for unexpected breaks as you stumble across new discoveries.

I would also point out that on line mapping programs are wildly optimistic in calculating drive times and on a long drive we estimate a journey to be around 20% longer in "real world" driving.

One other thing, you won't get far at 5-10 mph, and we wouldn't want to encourage people to drive over the speed limit. ;-)

Thanks again.

5 to 10 over the limit *WILL* get you stopped eventually. Been there, done that. Haven't been stopped yet at 4 over, but I was stopped for 6 over in Montana a couple years ago.

I tend to agree with Dave about the no unnecessary breaks part. Its those breaks that make a roadtrip unique and where you can really find some cool stops that you'd never find unless you happened to be on the road. Trying to overplan and map out the specifics of every stop can quickly turn a fun roadtrip into a soldier's march.

I will say that I typically drive in that 5-10 mph over the limit range, however, you are certainly still at risk of getting a ticket at that speed. I've been stopped for doing 8 and 9 mph over the limit, although I have gotten off with just warnings in those cases. There's also the risk of slipping above 10 over, and any time I've been caught doing 11mph or more over the limit, I've been given a ticket.

One thing not pointed out is your level of visibility.

If you're in the midst of other cars, you need to make sure you're not noticeably faster than the pack.

If you're driving on an empty road, you're fair game any time you're over the limit, although I would believe most times 5 mph won't trigger a pursuit.

I generally 'cheat' 9mph, using cruise control. So far, so good.

If you're driving a red corvette; you're really visible, and you need to decide beforehand whether you're going to behave or flee. I would suggest the former. Then again, I buy blue cars (my only two speeding tickets were in the 70s driving a red Mercury Cyclone with a white top; both tickets on the same weekend).