Summer travel season is now officially underway, as it really has started with Memorial Day. For most Americans, summer means packing a bag and hitting the road. According to a recent survey by Bridgestone Americas, 83 percent said they take at least one summer road trip. They surveyed about 2,000 adults in the US in May 2014.
Cost is widely regarded as the leading reason Americans choose to drive rather than fly, but those who take summer road trips say road travel has many additional benefits. A top response, 58 percent choose road travel over air because it gives them greater flexibility. Other leading reasons summer road travelers choose to travel by vehicle rather than plane are because their destination is too close to fly (44 percent), they enjoy driving (38 percent), and they want to avoid potential flight cancellations (23 percent).
On average, U.S. adults are willing to drive more than 500 miles on a summer road trip. When asked what could ruin a summer road trip, Americans said a fender bender (74 percent) and a flat tire (49 percent) were the top two mishaps. While a fender bender can be unpreventable, being stranded with a flat tire is something drivers can avoid with the new DriveGuard tire line from Bridgestone. DriveGuard tires allow drivers to travel up to 50 miles at up to 50 miles per hour if a puncture or loss of pressure should occur.
Preparation is the key to success for any summer road trip, and drivers are taking time to prepare their vehicles for the journey. Four out of five (81 percent) of those who take summer road trips perform vehicle maintenance to ensure their vehicles are ready. Of those who perform vehicle maintenance before hitting the road this summer:
84 percent will check tire pressures
82 percent will check fluid levels
60 percent will change the oil
There’s always the obligatory questions raised by kids who are traveling with their parents:
“I have to go to the bathroom” (74 percent)
“I’m hungry” (73 percent)
“Are we there yet?” (72 percent)
To learn more about the survey findings, contact Rachel Withers, Communications Manager for Bridgestone Americas, at 877-201-2373. For information about DriveGuard tires from Bridgestone or to find a Bridgestone retailer, visit www.DriveGuard.com.