A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

History

First road trips by automobile

The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in August 1888 when

Bertha Benz Bertha Benz (; ; 3 May 1849 – 5 May 1944) was a German automotive pioneer and inventor. She was the business partner and wife of automobile inventor Carl Benz. On 5 August 1888, she was the first person to drive an internal-combustion-engined a ...

, the wife of

Karl Benz Carl Friedrich Benz (; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929), sometimes also Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and fi ...

, the inventor of the first patented motor car (the ''

Benz Patent-Motorwagen The Benz Patent-Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"), built in 1885 by the German Carl Benz, is widely regarded as the world's first practical modern automobile and was the first car put into series production. It was patented and unveiled in 1886. ...

''), traveled from

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

to Pforzheim (a distance of ) in the third experimental Benz motor car (which had a maximum speed of ) and back, with her two teenage sons Richard and Eugen, but without the consent and knowledge of her husband. Her official reason was that she wanted to visit her mother but unofficially she intended to generate publicity for her husband's invention (which had only been used on short test drives before), which succeeded as the automobile took off greatly afterward and the Benz's family business eventually evolved into the present-day

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...

company. Presently there is a dedicated signposted scenic route in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

called the Bertha Benz Memorial Route to commemorate her historic first road trip.

First road trip in North America

The first successful

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the ...

transcontinental trip by automobile took place in 1903 and was piloted by H. Nelson Jackson and

Sewall K. Crocker Sewall K. Crocker (April 7, 1883 – April 22, 1913) was an American bicycle racer and automobile pioneer from Tacoma, Washington, who became the mechanic and co-driver who partnered with Horatio Nelson Jackson in the first successful cross-count ...

, accompanied by a dog named Bud. The trip was completed using a 1903 Winton Touring Car, dubbed "Vermont" by Jackson. The trip took a total of 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. The first woman to cross the American landscape by car was

Alice Huyler Ramsey Alice Huyler Ramsey (November 11, 1886 – September 10, 1983) was the first woman to drive an automobile across the United States from coast to coast, a feat she completed on August 7, 1909. Early life Ramsey was born Alice Taylor Huyler ...

with three female passengers in 1909. Ramsey left from Hell's Gate in Manhattan, New York and traveled 59 days to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, California. Ramsey was followed in 1910 by Blanche 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).

Expansion of highways in the United States

New highways in the early 20th century helped propel automobile travel in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, primarily cross-country travel. 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 holiday 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. The 1950s saw the rapid growth of ownership of automobiles by American families. The automobile, now a trusted mode of

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

, 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. Within one week, the average family can travel to destinations across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. The greatest change to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

road trip was the start, and subsequent expansion, of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

. 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 from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

countries,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and elsewhere soon came to the US 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.

Possible motivations

Many people may go on road trips for

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

al purpose (e.g.

sightseeing Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism m ...

or to reach a desired location, typically during a

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific fes ...

period; e.g., in the US, driving to

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

). Other motivations for long-distance travel by automobile include visitation of friends and relatives, who may live far away, or relocation of one's permanent living space.

Distance and popularity

Generally, while road trips can occur in any mass of land, large masses of land are most common for road trips. The most popular locations for road trips include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, Mainland U.S., and

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. This is because, since these areas of land are so composite, travel is more seamless, accessible, and efficient, than travel within smaller or non-contiguous, remote countries, such as

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

, in addition to the fact that these countries tend to offer more

points of interest A point of interest (POI) is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. An example is a point on the Earth representing the location of the Eiffel Tower, or a point on Mars representing the location of its highest m ...

than smaller ones. This may also be due to the distance required to qualify as a road trip, which residents of smaller bodies of land may find themselves incapable of achieving. While there is no consensus as to what distance or time must be traveled/spent in order for the event to qualify as a road trip, it is a commonly held belief that

commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regu ...

by means of automotive transportation should not qualify as a road trip, regardless of the distance. Some argue that travel may not require a set distance to qualify as a road trip.

In the United States

In the

, a road trip typically implies leaving the state, or in extreme cases, leaving the country for places such as

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. However, in larger states, travel within the state may also be considered a road trip. In terms of popularity, road trips have become loved and revered to an extent that a National Road Trip Day has been established. It is observed every Friday before Memorial Day.

In popular culture

Literature

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian an ...

, ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...

'' (1957) *

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...

, '' The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America'' (1989) * F. Scott Fitzgerald, ''The Cruise of the Rolling Junk'' (1924) * Vladimir Nabokov, ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...

'' (1955) * Mary Roberts Rinehart, ''Through Glacier Park in 1915 / Seeing America first with Howard Eaton (With Illustrations)'' *

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

, '' Travels With Charley: In Search of America'' (1961) * Hunter S. Thompson, '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'' (1971), a roman à clef, rooted in autobiographical incidents *

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

, ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twai ...

'' (1872) * Victor H. Green published annually '' The Negro Motorist Green Book'' (also referred to as ''The Negro Traveler's Green Book'' or simply as ''The Green Book'')

Photography

*In ''The Open Road: Photography & the American Road Trip'' (2014), the photography writer

David Campany David Campany (born 8 October 1967) is a British writer, curator, artist and educator, working mainly with photography. He has written and edited books; contributed essays and reviews to other books, journals, magazines and websites; curated pho ...

introduces the photographic road trip as a genre, the first book to do so. *

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'' (1958) – Sean O'Hagan, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

,'' about the inclusion of ''The Americans'' as the starting point in Campany's ''The Open Road: Photography & the American Road Trip,'' said "Swiss-born Frank set out with his Guggenheim Grant to do something new and unconstrained by commercial diktats. His aim was to photograph America as it unfolded before his somewhat sombre outsider’s eye. * Ed Ruscha, ''

Twentysix Gasoline Stations ''Twentysix Gasoline Stations'' is the first artist's book by the American pop artist Ed Ruscha. Published in April 1963Edward Ruscha Editions, Engberg, Phillpot, Walker Art Center, 1999 on his own imprint National Excelsior Press,Edward Ruscha ...

'' (1963) *

Stephen Shore Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947) is an American photographer known for his images of banal scenes and objects, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) and ''American Surfaces'' (199 ...

, ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) and ''American Surfaces'' (1999)

Films

Many movies and other forms of media have been made which focus upon the topic of road trips, including the namesake. Many tend to be comedic in nature, although road movies such as '' Easy Rider'' and '' Thelma and Louise'' exemplify the American dream. *'' Easy Rider'' (1969), an American road movie *'' National Lampoon's Vacation'', a comedy film series initially based on filmmaker/writer John Hughes' short story "Vacation '58", that was originally published by '' National Lampoon'' magazine. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of seven films. * '' Road Trip'' (2000), an American road comedy film *'' RV'' (2006), an American road comedy film *'' The Bucket List'' (2007), a comedy-drama film *''

The Fundamentals of Caring ''The Fundamentals of Caring'' is a 2016 American road comedy-drama film written and directed by Rob Burnett, based on the 2012 novel '' The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving'' by Jonathan Evison. Starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, and Sele ...

'' (2016), a comedy-drama film *'' Thelma & Louise'' (1991), an American crime drama film

Music

Many songs approach the idea of road-tripping, as often music listened to on the radio during road trips. *"

Radar Love "Radar Love" is a song by the Dutch rock band Golden Earring. The single version of "Radar Love" reached #10 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and #13 in ''Billboard'' in the United States. It also hit the Top 10 in many countries, including the United ...

" by Golden Earring. *" Truckin'" by The Grateful Dead, recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure. *" Born to be Wild", a song by Steppenwolf, also considered by some to be the first heavy metal song. *The eponymous "

Road Trippin' "Road Trippin" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from their seventh studio album, ''Californication'' (1999). It was released as the album's fifth and final single in December 2000. Background The single was released only ...

" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of their less-known singles. *" Born to Run" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

. *" Here I Go Again" by

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

. *" Take it Easy" by The Eagles. * "

Have Love Will Travel "Have Love, Will Travel" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard Berry. While the song may have been recorded before the end of 1959, the correct release date appears to be January, 1960. The title is based on a popular television/radi ...

" by The Sonics. *" Route 66", a popular rhythm and blues song about the cities and towns through which Route 66 passes. Since it has been released, it has been recorded by many bands such as

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

, Chuck Berry,

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Wels ...

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...

, and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

. *" Roadhouse Blues" by

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

. *" Roadtrip" by Dream.

References

External links

List of well-known Road TripsAmerica on the Move
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Trip Driving Tourist activities Transport culture Types of travel Trip

History

First road trips by automobile

First road trip in North America

Expansion of highways in the United States

Possible motivations

Distance and popularity

In the United States

In popular culture

Literature

Photography

Films

Music

See also

References

External links