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Road Trip Essentials For a Safe Road Trip
Road trips can be a fun and exciting way to travel, whether you’re hitting the road on a multi-day adventure or a casual day trip. Either way, it’s important to stay safe with road trip necessities that can benefit in case of an emergency.
Road Trip Safety Tips
Prepare for your road trip with essential products that will give you peace of mind. Knowing that you have a second set of eyes on the road with a dash cam or a backup power solution in the form of a portable jump starter means you’ll be prepared no matter what occurs. These are the road trip essentials we recommend bringing on your next driving excursion.
- With a dash cam, you’ll be able to capture the road ahead, behind, or inside your vehicle. Create a road trip memoir by recording the drive and your surroundings or use an in-cabin camera to get candid footage. With a Cobra smart dash cam, you’ll be able to receive alerts of upcoming road hazards or changes in traffic patterns, and you’ll have a community of drivers at your fingertips with the Drive Smarter® app. And if the worst occurs and you’re involved in an accident, a dash cam can capture and format footage to streamline insurance claims. Don’t wait until a road trip to enjoy the benefits of a dash cam - all drivers can experience an improvement in driver awareness.
- With long-range radar and laser detection, plus a nationwide database of red light and speed camera locations, a radar detector is one of the most vital road trip safety products you can have on a trip. It’s always beneficial to have intel when driving in unknown locations, and Cobra radar detectors, combined with the Drive Smarter® app, provide real-time alerts from the entire Cobra driver community. Don’t get pulled over for missing a speed limit drop or fall victim to a speed trap. Stay aware and alert with the help of a radar detector so you can make smart adjustments to your driving patterns.
- Spending your road trip camping? A power inverter is the perfect tool to help you use electrical gadgets even when you’re travelling. Charge your devices or power appliances and tools using your vehicle’s battery. You can rely on Cobra’s products to provide power solutions for a ton of scenarios.
- Hopefully you don’t find yourself in a situation where your vehicle has a dead battery, but if you do, having a jump starter can help get you back on the road quickly. They’re small, convenient, and powerful enough to jumpstart almost any vehicle, including V8s and diesel engines.
- Traveling in a convoy? CB radios provide reliable communication whenever you need it, unlike cell phones that depend on the nearest tower. Driving through rural areas or going off-roading can easily put you in the middle of a no service area. For clear and reliable communication, add CB radios to your arsenal of road trip essentials. Plus, if you’re traveling with kids, they can provide hours of entertainment so you can concentrate on the road ahead.
How to Prepare for a Road Trip
Before you set off on a trip, it’s a good idea to prep your car for the adventure ahead so you’re fully prepared to handle any problems that might arise.
1. Prepare your vehicle
Check your tires, lights, brakes, and A/C or heat, and top up or change fluids like windshield cleaner and your oil. Make sure your car registration and insurance are up to date, and decide whether you’ll need additional insurance benefits like roadside assistance before you depart.
2. Pack your road trip safety essentials
Once your vehicle is ready to go, you can start packing. Make sure to include a first aid kit, jump starter, power inverter, flashlights, tools to complete a tire change, and any other gear you may need such as a pair of walkie talkies in case you’re away from your vehicle. In the winter, it’s important to bring spare blankets and cold weather gear in case you’re stuck waiting for help during inclement weather.
3. Organize your extras
A vehicle can quickly get bogged down with equipment, belongings, and snacks for your trip. Make sure you have water and can easily access anything you might need quickly so you don’t have to unpack and dig through your vehicle. Although it’s not recommended - or safe - to eat while you drive, the rest of your passengers may need occasional snacks throughout your trip. Plan to take turns with another driver, if possible, to keep yourself refreshed and alert.