NH to GA Trip Safety

[Crashdriver]

Hey, this is my first post here- I'm looking for some advice for a trip coming to georgia coming up in the next couple months. I'm wondering if people on here have any advice on areas to avoid on my route down?

My route is basically NH to Albany GA with 'avoid tolls' on google maps, lol. I won't be going through NYC or Boston or maybe a few others.

I drove my crappy old truck the same route last year with no trouble, but this time I'm taking an '81 trans am and a buddy down and everyone is warning me about theft.
I'm pretty much planning on sticking to the highway and only getting gas at big places on the way. Not planning on stopping at any hotels, maybe crash at a truck rest stop if I have to but that's it. Probably leaving NH around 12pm, so a lot of the big places we go through won't have much traffic in the early morning, Did the same thing last time.

Any tips on things to do and places to stay away from or etc would be greatly appreciated.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums!

The biggest red flag I see regarding safety, is that you don't seem to be planning to take proper rest from the road on this trip. I'm not sure why theft is such a major concern? Every place is someone's home and they travel every day in safety and kinda expect their vehicle to be where they left it. Sure, you need to use common sense as to where you park up, just as you would at home.

I would recommend at least one night in a Hotel and unless you are working night shifts, leaving at midnight could knock your body clock out of whack. Driving with fatigue is one of the biggest killers on the road.

[DonnaR57]

Theft is mostly preventable. LOCK your vehicle when you leave it. Take your keys. Keep valuables out of sight, even if you don't think it's worth much. (If you leave an old camera in sight, a thief might wonder what else you've got in there.). Carrying bicycles or similar on the back or top? At night, take them into the hotel with you. If you have a glove compartment and there's anything in there worthwhile (like your house keys), lock it. Those are things you'd probably do at home, and on a trip, you should be more vigilant.

I would agree that you do need to stop at a motel or hotel overnight. Your body/bodies just cannot deal with sleeping in your car and still be alert for highway driving. If the overnight temperature isn't perfect, that makes sleeping in your car even more difficult. You just said "in the next few months", and that could mean some less-than-ideal weather anywhere, even south in GA. If affording a motel is difficult, then you may want to rethink this trip. Or save $ somewhere else, like taking a cooler and a picnic tote and saving restaurant fees (probably healthier, too, than fast-food places). Watch your fuel prices by using an app called Gas Buddy to find the most reasonably priced quality fuel for your vehicle. Stay out of convenience stores (thus, your picnic tote).


Donna

[AZBuck]

While I agree with almost everything that Dave and Donna have already told you, I do take exception to one of their recommendations. One overnight stop in a motel will not be enough. If you were planning a one day drive of 600 miles, I'd be fine, but cautious, with that. But two back-to-back days of over 600 miles? No, no, no! Professional drivers are limited to a maximum of 11 hours after 10 hours of rest. In your case, 11 hours would work out to about 550-600 miles when you account for stops, non-Interstate roads, meals and rest stops. While you are not legally bound by those limits, do you really think that you're going to do better than the pros? You should also take the time to thoroughly read the caveats of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

AZBuck