Planning a long car journey (and don't forget the car insurance!)
It's time to plan a long car journey for the half-term holiday. The car insurance may already be paid for - however, I don't know about you, but I still do this with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
Excitement because everyone looks forward to a holiday, but trepidation because nothing, it seems, can make a long journey feel shorter or less tiring when hours of time on tarmac stretches almost endlessly ahead.
But there are steps that can be taken to help cope with such lengthy trips and cut the stress and apparently inevitable tiredness.
I'll come to preparing the car in a short while - but first, I think about how best to map out the entire journey. Remember the old scouting motto 'be prepared'? Well, that's stuck with me for years. Planning ahead really helps - plan that journey, then work that plan.
Satellite navigation GPS systems are much more common - and cheaper - these days. Planning a route using an electronic device can remove much of the worry about making wrong turns or leaving motorways at wrong junctions.
But fear not - even without sat-nav, online route planners make journeys relatively simple to complete, and they advise of traffic blackspots. Try the RAC trip planner or the AA route planner.
Traffic jams and snarl-ups can add considerable stress and weariness to a long journey, so it makes sense to plan to avoid some locations at peak traffic times, such as morning and evening rush hours.
Sat-nav systems can be re-programmed on route if there are traffic problems caused by, say, roadworks. Driving round unexpected delays of this nature can be a neat advantage. If a GPS sat-nav for occasional journeys seems too much of an outlay, try borrowing one from a friend or relative.
My preferred times of travel for this forthcoming trip are very early morning. My children will get very bored, tired and uptight sitting for hours in the car - so, by starting off about 4am, I plan to have been well underway by 7am and hopefully they will have been asleep all of that time - the roads are emptier at this time too.
When the children do wake up, it is worth considering how to keep them as settled and as content as possible. Try these child-friendly driving tips and travel ideas to ensure your family has a peaceful and stress-free journey as possible.
It is important to take breaks every couple of hours or so because concentration and tiredness levels can be adversely affected which in turn could lead to, heaven forbid, some kind of road accident. No-one wants this to happen.
With the road journey pre-planned in your mind, on paper - or possibly on a sat-nav - it's important to consider the car or other vehicle that should carry everyone safely to the destination.
Good car maintenance is essential - breakdowns often happen when this has been ignored. This time, my car has had its annual service and MOT a couple of weeks before. In addition, front tyres have been replaced - they had worn down to almost the legal 1.6mm limit.
Having crashed my car when driving alone on a wet road a few years ago when my tyres were just above the legal limit, I'm very conscious of skidding and aquaplaning. As well as checking good car insurance is in place (try a cheap quote from Duck2water), replacing worn tyres is a small price to pay for the safety of my family as well as myself.
Tyres that are inflated under incorrect pressure can wear more quickly and also increase fuel costs by as much as eight per cent. And remember that tyre pressure is affected by the number of people in the car, and the amount of luggage. It is useful to pack the car the night before setting off and distribute bags and suitcases evenly.
Sudden braking could cause objects to fly about the car if they are not secure. And another useful piece of advice is to check the spare wheel and jack are reasonably accessible beneath luggage.
Don't forget the engine. water and oil levels must be assessed. Other car checks should include lights and windscreen wipers - they must work and not be damaged, and ensure the wiper reservoir is full.
So, that's the trip planned beforehand. By being prepared, just as in great military or business operations, it means all is ready for execution of the plan. Research shows most accidents happen in the first few hours after leaving home, so try to depart knowing all has been planned for the journey ahead.
Then - simply climb into the car and go! Mostly everything has been thought through beforehand, virtually nothing has been left to chance. Please enjoy a safe, well-planned journey. And do pat yourself on the back when you get there - you deserve it after all that preparation and driving.
More Car Insurance News
Road safety call after crash
No car insurance and dangerous drivers
Car insurance rates to soar
Video games and car insurance rates
Child safety seat laws
Cheap car insurance and crime
Car insurance company rumours
Supercars and motor insurance
Cheap car insurance and birthdays
Goodwood car insurance bill
Parents face fraud cover allegations
New car insurance quote service
Car insurance rates and road signs
Cost of car insurance etc, halts car sales
Court crackdown call on uninsured drivers
Cheap car insurance under threat
Superb Skoda car insurance
Car insurance rates and the uninsured
Car insurance rates and road pricing trials
Online car insurance goes to Goodwood Revival
School run driving offences will affect car insurance
Motor insurance company welcomes safe drivers
Car insurance rates could fall with IFB success
Older drivers miss out on cheap car insurance
Ford car insurance cost explodes for Limo company
Advice for first car insurance quote
Reader's Digest gives car insurance quotes
Car insurance quote error leads to fine for insurer
Car insurance bad driving habits survey
New deal for older motorists
Motor Insurance News Archive
Autumn 2008August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
Spring 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
Car insurance news 2005