Road Trips Aplenty by Labor Day

Almost half (40%) of drivers “definitely plan” to take a road trip by Labor Day and another 34% are considering it, according to a recent survey of 1,000 Americans by car shopping site Edmunds.com. They also say they’ll take selfies, lay off the cell phones and play country classics in the car.

The August survey also found that 80% of drivers had road trips in mind when they shopped for their vehicle, with cargo space being the primary desired feature (22%).

It probably won’t be a short jaunt for most. More than 92% of drivers are willing to drive up to 500 miles for a vacation. Almost half (49%) would drive cross country.

Some of these trips will be family affairs, and the age-old sayings are still going strong. Idle threat or trip-ruiner? Of respondents with children, nearly half (45%) say they will threaten to turn the car around at least once on a road trip.

Among other findings:

• Thirty-four percent of road trippers will take up to10 selfies on their trip;
• Must-haves for road trips are: global positioning systems according to 27%, music (24%) and companions of survey respondents (25%);
• Nearly 90% of respondents can go more than an hour without checking their cell phones while on a road trip; and
• When it comes to music to drive by, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” beat out music by Katy Perry and Taylor Swift for the top spot.