After a few years of ‘staycations’ – vacationing at home or close to home – Americans seem more than ready to travel again, but with rising gas prices airfare may remain out of reach for many travelers. In keeping with the indomitable American spirit, however, travelers may find road trips the best way to go this summer.
To make sure your road trip goes smoothly, road trippers are recommended to follow these safety tips:
- Create a list of emergency contacts, including relatives, neighbors, doctors, pharmacy, etc. that you may need in case you are involved in an accident or need medical attention. Take this list of contacts with you (including your travel insurance documents).
- Leave a copy of your travel itinerary with a neighbor, friend or relative in case you go missing. This will help put police on the track of finding you and help if people need to contact you while you are out of cellphone reach.
- Make copies of important identification and credit cards and keep them separate from your wallet. This will help if your wallet is stolen and you need to cancel your credit cards from the road.
- Be wary of sounds-too-good-to-be-true travel bargains because they nearly always are.
Of course, it’s important to consider whether you will be crossing the border into Mexico or Canada as well. Remember that your own automobile insurance may not cover you outside the U.S., but travel insurance for rental cars can provide extra protection for break-downs, accidents, assistance services, and more.
