Are you planning a long-distance car journey? Maybe you are planning a road trip with the family, but you’ve never driven more than a couple of hours in the car before? There are a few things that are important to think about when driving long distance. Here are a few to consider:

Share the driving

Assuming you are taking the trip with someone else, make sure you share the driving. I know lots of people who won’t drive in other countries and leave all the driving to their partner. This seems to come from some sort of fear or feeling of inadequacy which needs to be challenged.

When I was 18 I drove across France in my little Peugeot 205, on my own, without a mobile phone as no one had one back then. Looking back that was one of the best decisions I ever made, because it gave me the confidence to drive in another country. Since then I’ve driven multiple times in France, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and the USA. Why would you limit yourself?

Sharing the drive is part of the holiday, part of the experience, and it’s much safer than putting all of the driving all on one person.

Allow plenty of time

What you can’t do on a long car journey is rush. Give yourself PLENTY of time for wherever you are heading. There are so many situations that can happen along the way that can slow you down and impact on the time it takes to reach your destination.

You want to be able to enjoy the scenery, take your time and stop at the places you want along the way. You don’t want to be having to contact Astor Legal about a driving offence.

Think about what to wear

This might sound daft but it’s actually really important. Give some thought to what the whole family will be comfortable in during your journey. You don’t want to be regretting your choice of outfit 5 hours into your road trip do you?

Eat well

There can be a temptation to think you are on holiday so you can eat whatever, or snack in the car to pass the time. You absolutely need to take supplies with you but make them tasty, healthy options. I promise that this will make a massive difference to how you all feel when you reach your destination.

Stop regularly

If you are taking a road trip, that should be part of the holiday. You can make it less onerous by making regular stops, both overnight and along the way. Try out an app like Roadtrippers which enables you to search along your route for interesting and fun places to stop.

Making regular stops will break up the journey and keep everyone much happier.