The Open Road

“We were out on a date, in my daddy’s car/ We hadn’t driven very far/ There in the road,  straight ahead/ A car was stalled, the engine was dead/ I couldn’t stop, so I swerved to the right/ I’ll never forget the sound that night/ The screamin’ tires, the bustin’ glass/ The painful scream that I heard last”.

Traveling almost always involves both good and bad surprises, and the ones that come up when you’re at the counter to pick up your rental car almost always fall into the second category. The clearer pricing information found on the Internet has somewhat helped to ease the sting of surprise rental car expenses, as you’re more likely to learn about "hidden" fees well in advance.

Although we are more obsessed with safety on the road now more than at any other time in our history, with our cars being built with blind spot sensors and backup cameras, and with laws designed to eliminate the use of cell phones or fiddling with radios when driving, one important factor is consistently overlooked when we take to the road—pedestrians and, especially, cyclists.

Ready to hit the road in your car rental? Not so fast! Whether you’re headed across town or across the country, safety should always be your #1 concern. Driving an unfamiliar vehicle can open you up to a whole slew of unexpected hazards; however, many of them can be avoided if you follow some basic driving safety tips.