Remember the story about the couple who drove 30 miles down the motorway before noticing that one of the children was missing? The 12 yr-old was collected safely, having been looked after by staff at Rownhams Services. Well, it'll be a good story for his therapists in years to come...

Your family road trips may not be so stressful, but a little planning will help things go smoothly. These tips will help make your journey a happy one.

• Make sure the car has had a thorough service before you leave. Check the tyres for air pressure and make sure the rear and front headlights are working perfectly. Fill the car with oil, water and petrol the day before you are due to leave.
  
  
• Clean out the car completely so that only necessary items are travelling with you. This will give you more legroom and will make sure everybody travels in comfort.
  
  
• Make sure you have carefully planned your itinerary and have a precise list of directions to your destination. If you are map-reading, mark each successive page you are using with a Post-it note. This will save you constantly having to look up pages. The AA also has a first class free online route planning service which combines clear instructions with mileages and estimated journey times. Have the instructions and maps that you are going to need all in one place, perhaps in a side pocket bound together by an elastic band.
  
  
• Make sure you calculate an extra couple of hours into your journey time. This will allow you to fit in your on the road play stops for kids to expend any pent up energy and will also allow you to stop if a baby or young child has an accident or feels car sick.
  
  
• Check out the route you are planning to take and find out if you need to avoid any road construction. This will prevent any unnecessary delays. Listen to traffic reports before you leave and at regular intervals during the trip, making sure you avoid any routes where accidents have occurred.
  
  
• Traffic jams can be hot and frustrating and make for a bad atmosphere in the car. Some traffic can't be avoided but, if you can, try leaving at night or very early in the morning. This will make the journey time a lot smoother and will also be easier on the kids as they are likely to be asleep at this time. A child who suffers from carsickness will also be helped as sleeping through will take their mind of the discomfort.
  
  
• If you are staying the night at hotels, or guesthouses, make sure you ring them the day before to confirm your stay and give them an approximate arrival time so that everything is ready when you reach your destination.
  
  
• Have a bag in the front with you which contains some necessary items for the trip. Also make sure you have extra change ready for toll booths or any parking you may need to pay.
  
  
• Calculate the amount of money you are going to need for the trip and then add an extra couple of hundred pounds for emergency money. Make sure you are carrying smaller denominations on you and always have loose change ready for those miscellaneous items and activities.
  
  
• Finally, check that you have credit cards and your AA card in your wallet and an extra set of keys.
  
• How do I choose a child car seat?
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