Driving Through Different States: Measures to Take

Whether you are driving for purpose or headed out on a roadtrip with your best friends, leaving your own state to drive in another can be a bit of a daunting prospect. After all, the driving laws are different across every state! Though there are some similarities, there are distinct differences that you need to be aware of when crossing state borders. Here are some of the measures that you need to take.

Rules of the Road

You approach a four-way junction that is on red. What do you do? Well, the answer depends on what state you are in. You need to make sure you know what to do. If you stay put when you can turn, you are just going to aggravate the drivers behind you for not moving. If you turn when you should stay still, you could end up in an accident on the junction.

Most states do allow you to turn right on red, but you do need to make sure that there are no signs that indicate otherwise. For example, in California, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Nevada, and Nebraska, you cannot turn right on a red if there is a red arrow showing at the junction too. Similarly, 38 states allow a driver to turn left on red if the destination and origin streets are one way only. On top of this, Alaska, Michigan, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington allow left turns onto red if headed onto a one-way street, even if the origin point is on a two-way street.

These are just some of the differences that you need to know as a driver, but they are all incredibly important as they can keep you safe as you drive, no matter what state you are in. If you know that you are going to be driving through multiple states, look up little rules like this to keep you safe.

Insuring the Car

Is your car correctly insured? It might be something that you don’t give two thoughts about if you are used to driving around your own city. However, if you are going to be going further afield, you should make sure that your car is properly prepared for such a journey. You need to make sure that your insurance will give you the correct level of coverage, no matter what.

Do you know what are the types of car insurance and which ones might be of the most benefit to you? If so, you need to make sure that you do have the correct level of coverage. Car insurance will not just help you cover the costs of repairs when you have an accident. The right policy could also give you a replacement vehicle, allowing you to leave your damaged one behind in a garage while you continue to your destination.

Co-Driving

Unless you are travelling on your own, it might be foolish to consider driving the entire way yourself. It can be helpful to have someone else hop into the driver’s seat, if only for a few hours each day while you do the majority of the miles.

If you do decide to share the driving with someone else, it can be helpful to go through the route beforehand and look for places where you will swap over. Even if you think that you might be able to go a little further each day, you should commit to getting in the passenger seat. Who knows where the next point on the route will be where you can safely swap over? It is too much of a risk to have you push on and potentially get more and more tired behind the wheel.

Driving across multiple states is a real marathon of a car journey, so you need to make sure that you approach it correctly. Make sure you understand the rules of the road and how long you need to drive each day. That way, you should be able to keep yourself safe whilst also not pushing yourself too hard. Driving can be rougher on our bodies than we might expect. However, in a blink of an eye, you could be at your destination! Get prepared, and head out on your Great American Roadtrip now!