17 Road Trip Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Road trips are one of the best ways to see this country. I’ve driven over 100k miles of solo road trips and even more with family and friends and I can tell you — when road trips go wrong it almost always comes down to the same preventable mistakes.

When something goes wrong on the road it can feel bigger than it actually is. Being away from home in an unfamiliar place has a way of making even small inconveniences feel overwhelming.

A little advance planning takes care of most of it. Being prepared and having a few things in place before you leave doesn’t mean you’re expecting the worst — it just means nothing will catch you completely off guard.

The good news is most of these road trip mistakes are avoidable. Here’s what to watch out for.

Don’t Make These Road Trip Mistakes

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1. Not Checking Your Vehicle Before the Road Trip

Not checking your vehicle before you get on the road is one of the biggest road trip mistakes. Since road trips involve long hours, different terrain and changing weather conditions — your car has to be ready for all of it. Tires, fluids, battery, warning lights — check them all before you leave. Most repair shops will do a basic inspection for free.

And don’t overlook the small stuff. My car had a broken gas cap attachment that I had been meaning to fix forever. On a road trip to Michigan, after filling up, my daughter forgot to close the gas door and left the cap on the trunk. We heard the gas door shut about a mile down the road and knew immediately what happened.

We searched for over an hour in the dark and finally gave up. And even though we ordered two caps and went out of our way to pick them up at two different parts stores in two states we made it home to Georgia — over a thousand miles without it. Thank goodness it didn’t rain. I had a plastic bag and hair tie hack just in case. Check everything before you leave. Even the gas cap.

If you don’t run into problems, it’s a good idea to have a few tools with you on the road. A tire gauge, fix-a-flat, a jump box that has the capability to start a vehicle plus air up a tire. A safety hammer and seat belt cutter, that hopefully you will never need, would be handy too.

2. Forgetting to Pack Essential Items

We’ve all done it. Packed our bags and left something at home. That one time you left your camera charging cord at home and have no photos of your 9 year old in Guadalajara will always make you sad.

Most things you can replace at a Walmart or drug store. But specialty items — prescription medications, CPAP supplies, that specific camera cord — aren’t so easy to track down on the road. Use a packing list and check things off. It takes five minutes and saves hours of backtracking.

Southerner Says: I’ve learned most of these packing lessons the hard way. Save yourself the trouble and grab my free road trip packing checklist before your next trip. Get it here.

3. Not Staying Connected

Staying connected on a road trip means more than having a working phone. It means being prepared when the signal disappears — and it will.

Before you leave, download your routes to offline Google Maps. Once you’re out of cell range in the middle of Wyoming or the Nevada desert, a downloaded map is the difference between knowing where you are and being completely lost. Don’t count on signal to save you.

Pack your chargers — any kind you might need — and make sure they actually work before you leave the driveway. I also travel with a portable power station, not just a small battery pack but an actual station that can charge multiple devices even if the car charger fails. On long stretches where you need everything running it’s invaluable.

And paper maps. I still keep a road atlas in my car and I stop at every welcome center to grab a state map. These maps are free, state specific and often show scenic byways and points of interest that Google Maps doesn’t. Grab one when you cross a state line.

4. Leaving at the Wrong Time

There used to be a time when leaving work early on Friday was a good idea. Hitting the road after work, you could get a head start on the journey and avoid traffic congestion that often occurs on Saturday and Sunday.

But now, Friday traffic is as bad as Saturday and Sunday in some places. There’s nothing worse than getting started only to be stopped by traffic. To avoid that scenario, calculate your route ahead of hitting the road so that you aren’t passing through busy cities or places at the wrong time.

Utilize a map app like Google Maps or Waze even when you are in areas you’re familiar with. That way you’ll know about upcoming traffic and you’ll have a chance to reroute and avoid it altogether.

5. Driving Faster Than the Speed Limit

Nobody wants to see flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror on a road trip. It’s an unwelcome sight anywhere but especially when you’re far from home and unfamiliar with the area.

Small towns, school zones and construction zones are the places to be most careful. Speed limits drop fast and they’re enforced. I live near a busy interstate and I’ll just say this — out of state plates do seem to attract attention. Whether that’s intentional or not, don’t give anyone a reason to pull you over.

When you’re driving in unfamiliar territory, conditions are different from what you’re used to at home. Pay attention, put the phone down and drive the speed limit. If you have a hard time holding a steady speed on long stretches, that’s what cruise control is for.

6. Not Having Important Paperwork

Heaven forbid you do get stopped by the police on a road trip, one of the first things they’ll ask for are drivers license, registration and insurance. Do you have all that with you?

For sure you probably have your license in your wallet but when was the last time you checked to make sure your vehicle registration and up-to-date proof of insurance are in the vehicle? Verifying you have those items on hand can save you a world of headaches.

In most states a digital copy of your insurance is fine — just make sure you know how to pull it up before you need to. Verify everything is current before you leave home.

7. Not Having Cash on Hand

I never leave home without cash and I mean never. You never know when you’ll need it.

Case in point: I hit a hole on I-285 fifty miles from home in the rain. I needed help fast and didn’t want to wait for roadside assistance so I got off at a truck stop exit knowing there had to be a mobile mechanic nearby. There was — but he only took cash or Apple Pay and I have an Android. Thank goodness my husband and his iPhone could take care of it.

Keep cash in your wallet, a stash in the glove box and a jar of change for tolls, air and the occasional ice cream.

8. Traveling Without an Extra Key

Losing your car key on a road trip is stressful and expensive — and if you drive a newer vehicle with a key fob, replacing it is even more of a headache. A fob for a newer car can run anywhere from $150 to $500 or more depending on the make and model and where you are able to get it.

Someone else in the car should have the extra key. Two people with a key means half the chance of being stranded. If you’re solo, have a backup hidden somewhere on the vehicle. And before you leave home, make sure your spare key actually works — fob batteries die and sometimes quickly so this might be another item to keep on hand.

9. Not Fueling Up When You Can

If you live in the eastern U.S. you’re probably used to gas stations everywhere. Head west and that changes fast. Once you get to the plains states and the even more isolated western states, gas stations are fewer and farther between.

When I road trip out west and off the interstate I never let my tank drop much below half. It also lets you skip fueling up at national parks or big cities where gas always costs more. The rule is simple — fill up before it becomes a have-to situation.

10. Driving Too Much

Road trips are supposed to be fun. If you’re stressing it to make miles you’ve already lost the point. Don’t plan so much driving that every stop feels like a burden and every detour feels like a setback. Or you have to miss things. Then your road trip is just a drive.

Even a rest area break makes the trip more enjoyable. Experts recommend getting out of the car every two to three hours — your legs need it and so does everyone else in the vehicle. Some of the best discoveries on a road trip happen when you stop somewhere you didn’t plan to.

11. Not Packing Food & Snacks

Eating out for every meal on a long road trip gets expensive fast. Grabbing snacks at convenience stores all day adds up too. Pack your own food — a cooler, sandwich supplies, snacks and few things that feel like real food rather than just survival eating of sunflower seeds and peanut butter.

Keeping these items in the car also saves valuable time. Rather than making frequent stops to search for food, you always have something available. This is particularly useful when driving through areas with limited choices or during late-night hours when restaurants might be closed.

12. Never Leaving the Interstate

The interstate is efficient but it bypasses everything interesting. The best discoveries on a road trip happen when you leave the highway — a roadside diner nobody put on a list, a scenic overlook that stops you cold, a small town that wasn’t in any travel guide.

Mix it up whenever you can. Scenic byways, rural routes and secondary roads add the element of surprise and give you a real sense of the places you’re driving through. The interstate will get you there but the backroads will give you something to talk about.

13. Wasting Time on Stops

Necessary stops are part of road tripping but they can eat up your day if you’re not intentional about them. Fuel, food and bathroom breaks are non-negotiable — but if you’re making three separate stops for three separate things you’re losing time you could be spending on the road or doing something actually fun.

Combine stops when you can. Pull off at an exit that has a gas station and a restaurant and take care of everything at once. It sounds simple but it makes a surprising difference over the course of a long day of driving.

Where you stop matters too. Busy exits near cities or tourist areas mean traffic, construction and crowded parking lots. A quieter exit a few miles down the road often has the same options with a fraction of the hassle. I’ve learned to look a few exits ahead on the map rather than stopping at the first sign I see.

And if you’re traveling with other people — coordinate. Nothing adds time like stopping twice in twenty miles because someone didn’t speak up when everyone else was ready to stop.

14. Not Checking the Weather Forecast

This is an easy mistake and I’m guilty of it. I once spent most of a night in a flooded Walmart parking lot with strong winds, torrential rain and hail wondering if I was going to float away or get struck by lightning in my car.

Had I checked the weather before I got there I would have seen the massive storm system moving through and stopped somewhere safe ahead of it. As it was I was lucky to find that Walmart that was practically the only thing in town.

A quick weather check before you leave and drive into a new area can keep you out of situations like that. For road conditions — especially in winter or if you’re driving through mountain passes — a state Department of Transportation website is one of the best resources out there.

Most states also have a DOT app. They’ll show you closures, ice, construction and hazardous conditions before you’re already in them. Bookmark it before you leave. Also, if you have a weather app you like please let me know in the comments.

15. Forgetting an Emergency Kit

A few years ago thousands of people were stranded overnight in Atlanta after a winter storm moved through and turned the interstates into ice. My brother-in-law was one of them — stuck in his car overnight, unprepared, without food. That same day, it took me three hours to make a trip that should have taken thirty minutes. It could have easily been me stranded.

Ever since then I keep water, snacks and a blanket in my car year round. Not just on road trips — all the time. You never know when you’ll need it. A basic emergency kit doesn’t have to be complicated. At minimum add a first aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries, any medications you rely on daily and something to eat and drink if you’re stuck somewhere for a few hours.

A pre-made emergency kit works too if you don’t want to put one together yourself. Either way don’t skip it. The one time you need it you’ll be very glad to have one.

16. Thinking You Don’t Need Travel Insurance

Most people assume their health insurance covers them on the road. It might — but possibly at out of network rates which can mean enormous out of pocket costs depending on your policy. Before any road trip check with your insurance company about out of area coverage.

Travel insurance can help fill the gaps. Some policies also cover emergency evacuation, trip interruption and other things your health insurance won’t touch. The cost is small compared to what you could be on the hook for without it. Compare policies at travelinsurance.com for what suits your needs.

17. Skipping Road Side Assistance

That I-285 tire story is exactly why you need roadside assistance. Even though I chose not to use it that time there was another time when AAA saved me and helped me make a flight I had the same evening. It took them a while — I mean it’s Atlanta — to get there but once they showed up it was ten minutes and I made my flight.

The thing about roadside assistance is you never think you need it until you desperately do. A flat tire, a dead battery, running out of gas in the middle of nowhere, locking your keys in the car — these things happen to experienced road trippers too. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Road side assistance gives you peace of mind knowing you have someone available to help and you won’t get stranded trying to find a towing service or mechanic on your own in an unfamiliar area at an inconvenient hour. They do the work of locating help and getting someone to you so you can focus on not panicking on the side of the road.

Don’t Let These Mistakes Ruin Your Road Trip

Road trips are very much worth every bit of extra planning. The mistakes on this list aren’t meant to scare you — they’re meant to help you prepare and keep the trip fun from the first mile to the last.

If you’re ready to start planning, my road trip planning guide can help. And if you want someone else to handle the details, I can help with that too. As a travel advisor I help people plan every kind of trip — road trips included. Get in touch here.

See you on the road!

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