Before you set off on your holidays this year, you should really take a look at my summer driving tips. These top 10 tips will help avoid stress, save money, and help you maximise your time relaxing in the sun.
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Plan Your Journey
The key to avoiding stress whilst you’re on the road is to plan ahead. Even if you don’t end up sticking to the original plan, it is well worth planning a route to take across the country, planning roughly how much you can spend each day and planning activities that you can stop and do along the way.
When traveling with children this small amount of time spent planning can save a whole lot of hassle on the journey. It will give the children something to look forward to along the way, and could prevent unnecessary arguments.Check Your Car’s Fluids
During the summer, we all need water to stay active and prevent dehydration. Your car isn’t any different, without maintaining fluid levels in your car you may find that it decides to breakdown on you in the middle of nowhere.
To keep your car in tip top condition this summer, you should make sure the following fluids are kept topped up: including engine oil, windscreen washer fluid, engine coolant and of course, fuel.Check Your Tyres
Before heading off on a long adventure you should take a few moments to check the tread and pressure of your car tyres. This really quick check, may save you from breaking down or worse, a crash. You also need to check that you have a road worthy spare wheel in your car in case of an emergency.
Not only can an unsafe tyre cause an accident, if you are found to be driving with unroadworthy tyres you could be fined a hefty £2500 per tyre and 3 points on your licence.Prepare Car Games
Preparing a range of car games that the children can play may delay or at best, prevent the dreaded question asked by every child on a car journey, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’.
Look on the internet for ideas on how to keep the kids entertained on a long journey.Put Together An Emergency Kit
This is an essential tip for long car journeys, as no matter how old or new your car is, it could breakdown at any time. Your emergency kit should consist of a breakdown triangle, a blanket, a torch, high visibility jackets (legal requirement in France), a mobile phone, a map, and most importantly breakdown cover details.Pack The Car Well
When you pack the car in a rush you have a tendency to miss things, and to forget where everything is in the car. Take a bit of time, and put things in the glove box that you will need on the journey. Make sure you can easily reach things like CD’s, tissues, snacks, map, pillows and warm clothes. Everything else should be packed in the order you will need them.Stop For A Picnic
Who says that your holiday has to start when you reach your destination. Why not start it on your journey and stop for a picnic along the way? Take a few snacks, sandwiches, crisps, drinks and fruit and find a nice spot to stop and have a picnic. Assuming the weather is nice there are many beautiful places in the UK to stop and stretch your legs.
You should schedule in a 15 minute break for each 2 hours of driving, so this is a great opportunity for a stop.Plan A Scenic Route
Rather than just traveling along the boring motorways, why not plan a scenic route for your journey? Advantages of taking a scenic route to your destination include, avoiding long holiday tailbacks, stopping to stretch your legs more often, and by far the biggest advantage is discovering quaint little villages and beautiful scenery along the way.Check For Cheaper Fuel
If you plan your fuel stops in advance you can save up to £40 when refuelling on your summer journey this year. Why not take a little time to find out where the cheapest petrol stations are on your holiday route, and spend the savings on some fish and chips at the seaside with your kids.
At PetrolPrices.com we love helping you save money, so go to our homepage to find out the cheapest fuel in your area, or purchase our iPhone App, PetrolPrices Pro for your summer journey.Take Anti Sickness Remedies
Our final piece of advice is to make sure that you have travel sickness remedies with you. There is nothing worse than having poorly children in the back of the car, as it will only make your journey 10 times harder. As well as over the counter anti sickness tablets you can use other methods to keep travel sickness at bay. You can use acupressure bracelets which have a small plastic button on the inside which put gentle pressure on acupuncture points. One final remedy would be to try ginger snap biscuits, as ginger can be a natural remedy to nausea.
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