Driving tips for your summer holidays

Driving around this big beautiful country is great, but for the most part it means long distances in the car. It's important to check your vehicle and your tyres before taking on any long distances.

What defines long distance driving? Well, anything over 2-3 hours or 300kms can be classified as a long distance drive.

Whether it’s for work or leisure, most of us take on long distance drives more than once every year so it’s important to prepare.

Here are a few things to remember.

• Tyre condition
• Plan your trip (including fuel stops, distances, weather, entertainment)
• Maintain a good service history with your car
• Check your vehicle's fluids regularly during the trip
• Download maps and directions in case no reception is available
• Rest before you leave

Before any driving, it's important to run a few checks on your car

This usually involves a simple walk around the vehicle for any obvious signs of damage, wear or stand-out issues. Servicing your vehicle regularly will ensure that it is up for the challenge of a long distance trip but you might want to have your mechanic run a quick check before you leave just to be sure.

Plan Your Trip

Planning your trip is essential for rest, fuel, accommodation and sightseeing. You don’t want to stick to the highways and miss all the exciting things in your peripheral. Make sure you download any important maps or information before you head off in case of a lack of mobile phone coverage.

After researching your trip, you may have found that there is some 4WD’ing in some areas, if so, make sure your vehicle is capable. Things you might encounter could include a river crossing or a steep incline on a dirt road. Knowing your vehicle and its capabilities before heading off will ensure a safe and enjoyable trip for the whole family.

Choose the right tyres for your trip.

Your tyres are extremely important when it comes to long distance driving. All-Terrain tyres are the perfect balance of on and off road driving. If it's an ultra long-haul trip around Australia, Mud-Terrain tyres may not be the right choice for you. Again, plan your trip and your equipment accordingly.

There are some great long distance tyres out there on the market today. Holiday drives are a hit in summer and now is the perfect time to get that new rubber on the road. Pirelli have a great range of tyres that are perfect for big holiday drives.

The Cinturato P7 and Dragon Sport range of tyres from Prelli offer great comfort, durability and are the perfect tyre for the traveling family. It has been proven that Pirelli has the longest wearing treads on the market.

All season tyres are great for extended road trips around Australia. Expect to get the most from some of the Pirelli All-Season tyre range and if you are driving beyond a season, why not purchase a set of All-Seasons tyres.

Getting rest.

Rest up the day before you plan to begin your trip by getting a good night's sleep. Feeling fresh and revitalised is important to be focused while concentrating on driving. Limit your time in the car to no more than 8-10 hours a day with multiple rest stops. Breaking your trip up by visiting landmarks and sightseeing will help create a safer experience on the road.

Budget for incidentals.

When taking on a long distance trip, for instance a 10 month drive around Australia, always budget for the potential risk of a breakdown. Join up to Australia wide roadside service and have enough in the kitty for the unknown like a puncture repair, mechanical breakdown or other types of vehicle damage encountered along the way. Checking that your spare tyre is also in good condition and inflated.

For more information on the best tyre or advice for your next road trip drop into Kogarah Tyrepower today or simply call us on (02) 9587 3366.