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.
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...
