Are you planning to hit the open road this year? Road trips can be a great way to get away from the usual routine and explore new locations. There’s a lot to do when planning a trip. From determining where to go to finding hotel accommodations, looking for entertainment, and packing, you’ve got a lot to remember. As checklists can be useful in helping you to remember everything you’ll need for a successful road trip, here are a few things you want to make sure you include.
Get the Car Serviced
If you’ve chosen to take your personal vehicle on your road trip, you’ll want to have it serviced to ensure you arrive safely at your destination. Scheduling a maintenance check with your regular mechanic should be something you add to your travel checklist. When you take your car in, be sure to tell them that you intend to go on the road and how far you intend to travel. This will encourage them to check things like the oil, transmission fluid, engine, and brakes.
Get the Car Covered
Unfortunately, accidents happen on the road. While you hope nothing happens to you, it is important to be prepared. To provide financial protection, it would be ideal to get insurance coverage for your car. Liability car insurance gives you financial protection in the event that you have caused an accident while on a road trip. Should the accident be your fault, it would provide a predetermined amount of coverage for the cost of damages and medical expenses. If you presently have insurance, make sure that it is current prior to leaving.
Health Insurance
The idea here is obviously to get out on the road, experience new things, and have a good time. Be that as it may, you need to be prepared should something go wrong. Should you fall ill or get injured while on your road trip, you want to make sure that you can get the medical treatment you need without having much or any out of pocket costs. As laws have changed healthcare, there are a lot of free and affordable options you can consider to get the health coverage you need. If you are already insured, check with your insurance company to make sure that you are covered out of state.
Map or Printed Directions
Although most rely on technology like a GPS or their smartphone to guide them to where they need to be, it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan. Should something go wrong with the GPS device or app, you still need to know where you’re going. Be sure to print out directions to your destination or carry a map with you should you need it.
Playlist
As radio stations can be scarce across certain areas, it’s probably a good idea to make sure you’ve added a killer road trip music playlist to your list of things to do. Rather than listening to commercials or static, you can plug up your smartphone and jam out while on the road. There’s nothing like the combination of warm fresh air and great tunes to keep you in the driving spirits.
Whether you’re traveling just a few cities over, or you’ve decided you’re traveling cross-country, you don’t want to leave these things off your road trip checklist. Forgetting any of these things could mean sitting on the side of the road, having to pay thousands for an accident, or lost. Since none of these sound anything like a great time, it’s best to prepare just in case.
