Top Tips for Summer Lazy Days
09 Aug 2019
15 Jul 2019
Not long now until school finishes for Summer, which means it’s time for summer holidays, trips to visit far-flung family members, and of course the obligatory road trip back from University. Whether your road trip plans take place in the UK or across the channel, a long drive can soon descend into chaos if not prepared for correctly. If you need a few tips on how to have a stress-free (or near enough) journey, read on for our top tips.
Safety first – many road accidents can be prevented easily by checking the roadworthiness of your car before setting off. Check your car’s tyre tread and pressure, oil, coolant, screen wash, fuel gauge, wipers and all of the exterior lights are working correctly.
It’s been said a thousand times but tiredness really does cause more accidents than any other factor, so make sure you’re well rested before your trip – it’s recommended to have at least 7.5 hours sleep for each of the three nights leading up to the drive.
The time of day or night you set off for your journey is as important as the route you take. Try to avoid rush hour, particularly if there are planned maintenance works on the way, and allow 2 extra hours than you need for unexpected events.
Make sure to take regular breaks, to allow everyone a chance to stretch their legs – a good rule of thumb is 15 minutes per every 2 hours driving (although this may become more frequent if you’re travelling with children!)
It’s good to have a paper map to refer to in case of emergency, but it can be easier to use your phone GPS or a Sat-Nav device. Make sure to buy a sturdy phone mount like this one from Isynergy Phone Mount to keep your hands free.
It can be hard to concentrate if you’re hungry, and the food available in motorway service stations is often expensive, so it’s worth packing a light, portable meal and some snacks, as well as a bottle of water for the journey. Avoid eating a large, heavy meal during your drive as this can make you feel lethargic and cause tiredness.
If you’re travelling with children, frequent healthy snacks can be a useful way of keeping them occupied, as well as helping them to keep track of where you are in the journey. Vegetable sticks, breadsticks and finger sandwiches work wonders, as well as small bottles of water. Keep food up front with the adults stored in this stylish Mobicool cool bag, and let the kids know what time they will be given snacks, or alternatively you can pack small lunch bags for each child and let them snack at their own pace (keep an eye out that they don’t guzzle everything in 5 minutes though!)
For obvious reasons, avoid sticky or messy snacks like chocolate and wotsits. You’re probably going to have to relax your views on crumbs in the car for the duration of the trip, however keeping a good car vacuum on hand like this Black and Decker Black and Decker one can efficiently help to deal with mess on the go. Baby wipes and hand sanitiser are must-haves for long car journeys, with or without children.
If you’re travelling alone, you’ve got the freedom to listen to whatever you want, so make the most of it. Audiobooks, podcasts and good old music playlists are all great ideas to keep you occupied – why not download a language learning podcast and teach yourself Spanish on the drive? Don’t forget you’re in-car chargers so you can keep listening even when your battery gets low (make sure to wait until you’re safely parked before plugging in chargers or selecting music/podcasts)
A DAB radio might help you out if you can’t decide what you want to listen to; FM/AM radios run the risk of dropping in and out of signal and DAB has much more choice of stations. Try this in-car DAB radio in-car DAB radiofrom Pure, which also has Bluetooth connectivity so you can pair it with your phone or tablet
Long car journeys can be tough with no one to talk to, and it’s easy to become tired and lose focus on the road. Chewing gum can help with concentration, but always make sure you safely stop if you do feel tired and take a short break to rest.
Road trips with children can become nightmarish if you don’t prepare, so make sure they’ve got something to do, or your driving takes place during their normal sleep schedule. Colouring and puzzle books can help to keep their minds busy, or you can cave in to technology and let them have a tablet to play on throughout the journey. If you go with the latter, make sure they have a pair of headphones with volume control to save their ears as well as yours.
If you have an avid reader in the family, firstly keep an eye out for any carsickness that may occur from having their eyes down in a book. If your journey takes place during the night, it might be worth investing in a book light so they can continue to read in the dark (just make sure your little one knows not to flash the light in your eyes while you’re driving!)
