How far is too far to drive?

[polly4711]

Thanks to both Badgercat and Withm.


Badgercat- I'm graduating in this december (was supposed to this past may, so i'm your age )

Withm- I've heard the stories a lot. My parents have talked about it, and yes that idea makes me nervous. I drive a 2002 Volvo with only 52k miles on it. It has made the trip 3 times. I haven't it's been a few months since i had my oil changed, but the car mechanics laugh at me when i bring it in due to how good condition my car is. However, i would be nervous still. I think that I could handle it. (and I LOVE books on tape too)

I'll keep you all updated on my decision.

[OakLeaf]

it's been a few months since i had my oil changed.

Then make sure you take care of all scheduled maintenance before you leave. Change the oil, check the air filter and replace if it necessary, rotate the tires if they're due, be sure the tires are topped up, if your car has a tire pressure sensor don't forget to reset it when you top up the tires. Just for the sake of thoroughness, even though they're probably fine on a car so new and you would've noticed any leaks, check the tranny fluid and brake fluid dipsticks and the coolant level. About 1-2 hours' work, and changing the oil in a car without a lift is dirty work, but well worth it.

I'm too old to drive that far straight through, but it's your call.

Next time plan a little farther in advance. Plane tickets aren't so expensive if you don't buy them at the last minute. The timing of plane ticket purchases has changed though. Definitely when I planned this trip to Dallas in early July, the fare was very inexpensive. Used to be six weeks before travel was the "golden window;" now they say to buy the ticket as soon as your plans are locked down, because they start increasing the fare as soon as the plane is more than half full.


To those who've inquired about public transit in the USA - Amtrak routes are VERY limited, it's EXTREMELY expensive because you have to pay hotel rates for a sleeper cabin on top of the transit fare which is usually the same to a little higher higher than plane fare, and it takes about two to three times as long as driving. Never mind changing trains in the middle of the night. I haven't taken Greyhound in decades, and I actually always enjoyed it, but again, travel time is so long that you really couldn't do it and turn around for a weekend.


ETA: I forgot to mention my one HUGE issue and that is fatigue and sleep deprivation. When you're committed to a trip sometimes it's VERY hard to decide you're too tired to continue. Never mind that the fatigue itself is impairing your judgment. Before you take this on, I'd definitely do some soul-searching about (1) your stamina level, (2) your ability to judge your own fatigue level, and (3) your willingness to pull over and sleep if you need it. Do you regularly pull all-nighters in college, without repercussions? If so, it's good you've got the stamina, but don't do it within two weeks of the trip. Studies have shown that driving fatigued is even more dangerous than driving drunk (and IMVHO most drunk driving accidents have fatigue/sleep deprivation as a major contributing factor).