Planning a long trip in your car can be really exciting, especially if you’re bringing along family and friends for the journey. However, you need to make sure that your car is ready to take on such a long journey so that you won’t have any issues that could slow you down. While it’s important to bring snacks and load up your favourite songs, here are some things you can do to make sure your car is truly road trip worthy:
Check your car insurance
This isn’t something that’s particularly exciting, but it is important. The last thing you want is to get started on your trip and realise your car insurance has expired. But even if you have car insurance, is it really doing enough to protect you? If you’ve been meaning to upgrade your policy, now is the time to start looking for cheap car insurance quotes. All kinds of things can happen on a long journey, so you need to make sure you have enough cover to protect yourself in different situations.
Get your MOT done
Have you been meaning to get your MOT sorted but just can’t seem to find the time? Try not to leave it until after your trip if the deadline is coming up soon. You never know what little issues could be hidden away that may be exacerbated by hours and hours of driving. Getting your MOT before hitting the road will give you peace of mind knowing that everything should be in good working order.
Keep a repair kit handy
Even if you’ve done everything you can to make sure your car is in good shape, accidents can still happen. It can really pay off to have an emergency repair kit in the boot of your car that will allow you to make small repairs if needed. It’s much quicker to fix small issues yourself rather than wait for your breakdown cover to come and get you. Some things you should have in your kit include some basic tools, a torch, a spare tire and some jump leads.
Make sure your car is loaded correctly
Whether you’re going camping or are off to a festival, you need to make sure you’ve loaded up your car properly. Not distributing weight evenly can lead to accidents while tying things incorrectly to the roof of your car has the potential to harm not only yourself but other drivers as well. Always make sure that you can safely see out of the back of your car as well. It can be tempting to pack the back with as much as possible but blocking your view can be dangerous, especially when driving long distances.
Most long car journeys will pass with no problems, but it doesn’t hurt to take precautions. Having a professional look at your car and carrying out some checks yourself could save you a lot of money and stress while on your trip, so don’t ignore the little things.
