Aroad trip, sometimes spelledroadtrip, is a long-distancejourney traveled by acar or amotorcycle.
The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place inGermany in August 1888 in the third experimentalBenz Patent-Motorwagen.Bertha Benz, the wife of the car's inventorKarl Benz, traveled 106 km (66 mi) fromMannheim toPforzheim with her two teenage sons, Richard and Eugen. The vehicle had a maximum speed of 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph), and the trip took over twelve hours. The vehicle had only been used on short test drives before, and Bertha did not tell her husband about her plans.The official reason for the trip was to visit her mother; in reality, she intended to generate publicity for her husband's invention. The Benz family business would eventually evolve into the present-dayMercedes-Benz company.[1] The route she drove is now a designated scenic route inBaden-Württemberg called theBertha Benz Memorial Route.[2]
The first successfulNorth American transcontinental trip by automobile took place in 1903 and was piloted byH. Nelson Jackson andSewall K. Crocker, accompanied by a dog named Bud.[3] The trip was completed using a 1903Winton Touring Car, dubbed "Vermont" by Jackson. The trip took 63 days between San Francisco and New York, costing US$8,000. The total cost included items such as food, gasoline, lodging, tires, parts, other supplies, and the cost of the Winton.
TheOcean to Ocean Automobile Endurance Contest was a road trip from New York City to Seattle in June, 1909.[4] The winning car took 23 days to complete the trip.
The first woman to cross the American landscape by car wasAlice Huyler Ramsey with three female passengers in 1909.[5] Ramsey left from Hell's Gate in Manhattan, New York and traveled 59 days toSan Francisco, California.Ramsey was followed in 1910 byBlanche Stuart Scott, who is often mistakenly cited as the first woman to make the cross-country journey by automobile East-to-West (but was a true pioneer in aviation).
Widely publicized summer road trips byHenry Ford,Thomas Edison, andHarvey Firestone popularized to Americans the idea of driving a car to a new and faraway place rather than for frequent in-town destinations like work, church, friends, and family.[6] The trips also sometimes included naturalistJohn Burroughs and presidents of the United StatesWarren Harding,Calvin Coolidge, andHerbert Hoover.[6]
The1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy was a road trip by approximately 300 United States Army personnel from Washington, DC to San Francisco.Dwight Eisenhower was a participant. 81 vehicles began the trip which took 62 days to complete, overcoming numerous mechanical and road condition problems. Eisenhower's report about this trip led to an understanding that improving cross-country highways was important to national security and economic development.[7]
New highways in the early 20th century helped propel automobile travel in theUnited States, primarily cross-country. Commissioned in 1926 and completely paved near the end of the 1930s, U.S. Route 66 is a living icon of early modern road-tripping.
Motorists ventured cross-country for holidays as well as migrating to California and other locations. The modern American road trip began to take shape in the late 1930s and into the 1940s, ushering in an era of a nation on the move.[8]
The 1950s saw the rapid growth of ownership of automobiles by American families. The automobile, now a trusted mode oftransportation, was being widely used for not only commuting but leisure trips as well.
As a result of this new vacation-by-road style, many businesses began to cater to road-weary travelers. More reliable vehicles and services made long-distance road trips easier for families, as the length of time required to cross the continent was reduced from months to days. The average family can travel to destinations acrossNorth America in one week. For example, Maryland journalist Kevin James Shay drove his two kids, Preston and McKenna, across the United States and back in roughly two weeks in 2013, visiting theGrand Canyon,Mount Rushmore, and other top attractions during the 6,950-mile trip.[9]
The biggest change to theAmerican road trip was the start and subsequent expansion of theInterstate Highway System. The higher speeds and controlled access nature of the Interstate allowed for greater distances to be traveled in less time and with improved safety as highways became divided.
Travelers fromEuropean countries,Australia, and elsewhere soon came to the United States to take part in the American ideal of a road trip. Canadians also engaged in road trips taking advantage of the large size of their nation and close proximity to destinations in the United States.
Some took to the road for years. After their home inPasadena, California, was destroyed in awildfire in 1993,Megan Edwards and Mark Sedenquist lived in a custom-built motorhome they called the Phoenix One for six years. They later settled inLas Vegas and started a website, RoadTripAmerica.com,[10] to network with other road-trip advocates.
Others began to see how fast they could reach all 48 states in thecontiguous United States. Texas insurance agent Jay Lowe and two associates set the record in 1994 of just under five days, and they were mentioned in theGuinness Book of Records.[11] After others beat that time, Lowe and his partners again eclipsed the record in 2019, driving 6,619 miles through the 48 states in just under four days.[12][13]
Many people may go on road trips forrecreational purpose (e.g.sightseeing or to reach a desired location, typically during avacation period; e.g., in the US, driving toDisneyland fromOregon).[14] Other motivations for long-distance travel by automobile include visitation of friends and relatives, who may live far away, or relocation of one'spermanent living space.[14]
In a January 2022 survey conducted by OnePoll, 2,000 American drivers were polled. The results revealed that, on average, individuals have embarked on approximately seven road trips throughout their lives. Over 78% of Americans have reported discovering special destinations such as restaurants (46%), historic locations (40%), and roadside attractions (38%), during their journeys that might have gone unnoticed if they had chosen an alternative mode of travel. Respondents also highlighted the additional benefits of road tripping, such as quality bonding time with family and friends (51%), the flexibility to make stops (48%), and the financial savings associated with this more economical method of travel (46%).[15]
Literature
Photography
Films
Many movies and other forms ofmedia have been made that focus on the topic of road trips, including the namesake. Many tend to be comedic, althoughroad movies such asEasy Rider andThelma and Louise exemplify theAmerican dream.[23]
Music
Tips for road trips travel guide from Wikivoyage
