Are we there yet?
Anyone with children is all too familiar with that question.
It’s great to spend time with the kids on a family road trip, but not if it takes too long to get there.
All is not lost however according to the findings of a survey in the United States.
The Harris Poll surveyed 1063 US parents of children under 18 to explore the state of the family road trip.
In-car Wi-Fi sits at the top of parent’s wish list for better road trips.
The survey revealed that, despite stressful or unexpected moments, the spirit of the family road trip remains alive and well.
Spending time with family (80 per cent) ranked as parents’ favorite thing about road trips, followed by exploring and stopping at interesting locations/destinations (69 percent).
But 56 per cent of parents say that having Wi-Fi/internet connectivity would help make their family road trips more enjoyable.
Nearly three in 10 parents who take family road trips but do not have Wi-Fi/internet connectivity in their car say they would be more likely to take longer (29 per cent) or more frequent (28 per cent) family road trips if their vehicle had Wi-Fi/connectivity.
Of those who do have Wi-Fi/internet connectivity in their cars, more than half of parents who take road trips said they are more likely to take longer (54 per cent) or more frequent (56 percent) family road trips because of the feature.
What stresses parents out the most on family road trips?
Surprise. Surprise. It’s not the kids
Traffic and other unexpected delays is by far the most stressful part of the family road trip, according to nearly two in three parents (63 per cent).
Only about one in four parents (26 per cent) are most stressed by getting asked “are we there yet?”
And just under one in three (31 per cent) find it stressful to keep the kids entertained.
Is there a “perfect” road trip length?
The consensus is yes. American parents who take road trips believe that the “perfect” family road trip length is typically six hours.
Tech savvy parents who take road trips these days bring along an average of 6.6 mobile devices.
Which wheels are best?
Nearly two-thirds of all American parents (63 per cent) say they would prefer to take a family road trip in an SUV over any other type of vehicle, with more than two in five (42 per cent) preferring a large SUV with three rows.