1880 S Dairy Ashford Rd, Suite 650, Houston, TX 77077

Car Travel In The US: 13 Main Rules

On your own or rented car, you can go around all the sights planned for visiting in any country in the world. However, there are enough places in your own country that you would definitely like to see. You don’t even need to have your own car for this. A sufficiently developed market for rental services allows you to rent a car and go on a trip anywhere in America. Companies specializing in car rental offer favorable conditions in terms of cost, timing, payment options, booking and other important indicators. Furthermore, the selection of cars is often quite impressive. If you want to choose something from the luxury segment, you can try Porsche Cayenne rental with RealCar.

Today we’d like to share the main tips before you decide to go on a trip by car:

  1.  Plan your travel in advance. Prepare the program of your trip for each day and work it out in as much detail as possible. Distances and travel times are conveniently calculated using Google maps.
  2.  Traveling by car is more convenient with a GPS navigator. If you rent a good car, for example, Porsche Macan, then you can be sure that it is definitely there.
  3.  If you are planning to go on a trip with children, do not forget about child seats. You can rent them, or buy them in a store.
  4.  During the trip, it is very convenient to use paper maps of roads and regions along which you travel, with marked sights on them. You can buy them in supermarkets throughout the country or at many gas stations.
  5.  Be aware that some roads and bridges are paid, such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There are especially many toll roads in and near large metropolitan areas. It is convenient to pay taxes using a special transmitter – a transponder, which can be rented when renting a car. For a one-time payment, it is better not to take it, but to study the upcoming travel route in advance and prepare to pay in cash (this is possible in some places), or pay by card within a few days after your trip.
  6.  When traveling, you should always have cash dollars with you in small bills, as well as coins for small expenses and payments (for example, for pumping a wheel at a gas station).
  7.  Do not throw garbage out of the car window or on the side of the road, otherwise, you can run into a fine of 2 thousand dollars (the size of the fines differs in different states).
  8.  In large cities, do not forget to pay in advance for parking your car using a parking meter, so as not to receive a fine. You can always park for free near large shopping centers or near restaurants and cafes, as well as fast food eateries.
  9.  There is quite a lot of wildlife near national parks and forests along the road (for example, in the Grand Canyon Park) and livestock grazing. Therefore, if you see an appropriate warning sign, in no case ignore it, but rather slow down and focus on the road and the situation around it. This is especially important at dusk, when visibility is already rather poor, and raccoons and deer are still awake.
  10.  On long climbs (such as in Death Valley), it is recommended to temporarily turn off the air conditioner so that the engine does not overheat. And on downhill gradients, engine braking can be used to ease deceleration and avoid excessive brake overheating by forcing a downshift even in an automatic transmission.
  11.  If you are stopped by a policeman, sheriff or ranger, then do not get out of the car, stay inside and wait for them to come to your car. Be polite and follow all the requirements.
  12.  Always carry plenty of drinking water in the car, especially on a hot day. It is better to immediately buy a big package at any supermarket and put it in the trunk just in case.
  13.  In some sparsely populated states, the distances between gas stations can be quite long, so fill the tank full and make sure that at least half of it always remains. This will save you nerves and time. This tip will be relevant to those who are going to visit national parks.