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Traveling solo doesn’t have to be scary, darning, or brave. I love a good solo road trip, but anytime your road trip there is an inherent risk. These five solo road trip safety tips will help you feel more secure in your decision to take on the open road all by yourself. It will also help your loved ones feel more comfortable with you taking off.
Life 360 App
I first came across the Life 360 app when I was meeting up with a bunch of friends from across the country in Wyoming. We all wanted to track each other’s travels to the Equality State so we downloaded the app and followed each other until we were able to see one another in person.
Last year when I solo road-tripped to California from Arkansas I covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. If something had happened to me somewhere between, say Albuquerque and Flagstaff, there would be a lot of ground to cover to search for me. The Life 360 app tracks you constantly and allows loved ones to follow you. That way if you go missing somewhere along I-40, there’s a more specific area for the authorities to search.
There are other apps, but this is just the one I use.
Garmin InReach
I end up in many places where I don’t have cell phone service. This makes texting my parents updates to let them know I’m alive a little difficult. The Garmin InReach works on satellite anywhere in the world.
It gave me comfort last year when I was in Death Valley during a heatwave. I thought if my car broke down, I could at least text my parents on the Garmin InReach. They would have my location and could call the park ranger.
Text Check-ins
Speaking of texting my parents and letting them know I’m not dead, regular text or call check-ins is a great solo road trip safety tip. It’s easy to get caught up in the beautiful scenery, but regular check-ins help loved ones know if something goes wrong.
A couple got lost in the desert while hiking once. I watch a documentary on them and they said no one knew they were missing until they didn’t come home from their trip days later. Had they checked-in regularly, their loved ones would have known something was wrong sooner and could have alerted the authorities.
Learn Roadside Mechanics
Another solo road trip safety tip is simply to learn basic roadside mechanics. My father taught me to change a tire so I would never be stuck on the side of the road as a damsel in distress. In fact, when my car scooped up some rocks on the Mexican border and started making a terrible noise, I was able to take my tire off, look under my car, and fix the problem. This saved me a very expensive tow and car repair, because I was in the middle of nowhere.
Consider Roadside Assistance
But changing tires may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Subscribing to some sort of roadside assistance, like AAA or OnStar, is a good idea anyway if you spend a great deal of time on the road. If you put as many miles on your car as I have, chances are something is going to go wrong. Roadside assistance can help you out of a jam when you are solo road tripping. Even if you go with a rental car service, it can still be a reassurance. You can use Car Hire to help you find one.
Solo Road Trip Safety Tips
I feel I’m safer when I solo road trip than when I travel with friends. And it is because I take more precautions. When I travel with friends I get much more relaxed. As we all know, even if you are with someone else, things can still go wrong. But following these guidelines can help keep you a little safer, give you more peace of mind, and of course, give your loved ones more peace of mind as well.
Pin it! Solo Road Trip Safety Tips
