Summer is here, and many of us would have many road trips planned. I know we have a couple planned and I am really looking forward to them. We all need a break every now and again, and travelling by road, is a convenient and affordable way to travel, especially with kids.

Great road trips mean avoiding many of the problems that you can face on when motoring. After all the packing and planning, you won’t want to get stranded on the motorways, or be without something you need.

Here are some tips for you to remember when planning your summer road trip –

Invest In A Smart Sat Nav

Buy a smart sat nav. Not only will you be able to find the best route from your location on any given day, but it will help you to avoid the unnecessary traffic. Smart devices of all kinds can update you on exactly where the hold ups are in real-time, so you get information on delays caused by accidents, heavy road use, or planned road works.

Deal With Insurance Claims With a Camera

This tip is so important so take notes. Dashboard mounted cameras are nothing new but only few UK drivers use them regularly. Once fitted, you can forget about them and set them to record in a loop. In the event of an accident, or even a near miss, you will have the necessary evidence to show that you have been driving correctly at all times.

We were involved in an accident many years ago while driving to London. There was a sudden stop, and a car ran into us behind, and we ran into the car in front, and it went back and forth for some seconds. It was terrifying. The car was a wreck and we were ‘OK’ but in shock. It took us a while to get the necessary evidence together for our insurance claims, but if we had a dashboard camera, it would have been a lot easier.

Buy Some Performance Tyres

Long road trips can take it out of your tyres, especially if you choose to go down country lanes and tracks which might mean you feel more off-road during your road trip than on. Performance tyres may set you back more than the budget variety, but they tend to stand up better to more testing conditions and they can work out cheaper in the longer term because they are more durable. Ask a national tyre dealer, such as Point S tyres about special promotions for the best bargains from top tyre brands.

Stay Cool

Most modern cars have air conditioning, an essential for roads trips that are undertaken during summer, but what if yours breaks down or you don’t have it in the first place? Well, 12V air con units can be bought which help you to stay cool even if you need to keep your windows up to remain secure in slow-moving urban traffic. Just mount one on your dashboard and plug it into the cigar lighter adapter.

First Aid

Keep a first aid kit in the glove compartment in the case of an emergency. If you cannot get out of the car having one in the boot is not of much use, so ensure yours is easily available in the back seat or under the chairs should you need to make use of it.

Do you have any summer road trip tips to share?

*This is a collaborative post.