Keep Your Provisions Close At-Hand
June 18, 2025
If you’re looking forward to going on vacation this Summer, and your vacation is going to involve some driving, make sure you’ve got your provisions stocked up before you go! We’ve mentioned before about vehicle safety and making sure you’re roadworthy, but let’s take a moment to address personal provisions that you should consider taking along. There are obviously a million things you could also bring, but we’ve cherry-picked a list of things we’ve found most useful.
- Water: we recommend making sure you’ve got adequate water. Keeping gallon jugs of clean water are always a good idea, especially if covering large distances in poorly-populated areas. If you like it cold and refreshing, consider taking along a cooler. Yes, soft drinks are great and tasty to take along, but consider always having water as a backup for emergencies.
- Snacks: no one likes being around “hangry” passengers, especially little kids. Keeping “Die Kinder” (“The Kids” in German) occupied can be a challenge, so plan accordingly as they can quickly lead to distracted driving. Driving for long distances on an empty stomach can also lead to trouble if you’re blood sugar-sensitive. Consider taking along some quick and convenient snacks just to keep everyone “topped” off is a good idea.
- USB Charging Cable and GPS: remember the “old days” of maps and having to ask for directions? Yeah, we’re trying to forget those, too! GPS are a modern must-have for travel, particularly when visiting unfamiliar areas or plotting good navigational routes. If your vehicle doesn’t have a built-in GPS system, make sure you’re covered not only with your handy dandy handheld device but also with w USB charging cable to be sure you’ve got the “juice” to get where you’re going! A dashboard cellphone mount is also a “nice-to-have”.
- Roadside Emergency Kits: these are always a good idea for the occasional emergency situations as well as for peace-of-mind. These are available at many hardware stores as well as “superstores” and also online and are definitely smart investments. We’ll go into specifics about what should be included in a later, more focused article, so keep your eyes open for that.
- First Aid Kit: so long as we’re in “kit mode”, we should also consider having a good, complete first aid kit handy for any unforeseen medical problems or injuries that might come up. In the interest of brevity, we’ll spare you the specifics of what should be included for another article.
- Jumper Cables: if these are not already included in your roadside emergency kit, a good pair of jumper cables can be a lifesaver! Make sure you’re not hitting the road without them!
- Portable Tire Inflator and Tire Gauge: flat tires are always annoying to have to deal with, so make sure you’re prepared. We’ve mentioned before about checking your spare tire before hitting the road, but we’d also recommend a portable tire inflator that can be run off your cigarette lighter socket (see here: Best Portable Tire Inflators 2025, Tested) as this will eliminate the need to find an external electrical outlet. Of course, a tire gauge is also handy to have with you!
- Blankets, Towels, and Pillows: these always find use on the longer trips, especially if travelling with kids. Having these around for any “road naps” that you might need are also good ideas.
- Hand Sanitizer: these always find numerous uses on the longer trips!
We at Ditmire Motorworks are always concerned about your safety and wellbeing! For more tips about roadtrip gear that you might find handy, see the weblinks provided below. Safe driving, and we’re here if you need some help staying safe and road worthy!
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We’re still more than a month away from Memorial Day, but did you know that the 100 days between Memorial Day (Monday, May 25, 2026) and Labor Day (Monday, September 7, 2026) are known as the “100 deadliest days” when it comes to traffic fatalities? In particular, this is a time that sees VERY high rates of traffic fatalities involving teen drivers, many of whom are fairly new to driving and may not exercise the caution that older, more seasoned driver have. In fact, last year it was reported that, between 2019 and 2023, 13,135 people nationwide were killed in car crashes involving teen drivers, with 30% occurring during the 100 deadliest days. Jake Nelson, Director of Traffic Safety advocacy and Research at Triple-A, believes that the greater unsupervised time teens spend during the Summer Vacation is a major contributing factor in this trend, and he encourages families to strongly consider additional driver education classes offered through Triple-A as well as parent-teen safe driving agreements to set clearly-defines expectations for new drivers1. As car crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, this is great, sound advice! It is speculated that the underlying causes of these statistics involve a combination of factors: • School is out, and teens are eager to explore their young adulthood. Who can remember the excitement of having “new wheels” and the freedom to expand their social lives2? • Inexperience is clearly a factor. How skilled can you really be at something you’ve only been doing a short while2? • Speeding is exhilarating when you’re a new driver….I know. It’s also dangerous as things happen faster when you’re moving faster. I did my share of racing when I was a kid, and, luckily, I never got into an accident….but I DID get a lot of speeding tickets which eventually taught me to be more responsible2. • Distracted driving is deadly for all age groups, but is particularly dangerous for teens, where it accounts for around 60% of all accidents involving teens. Teach your kids to PUT THE CELL PHONE DOWN, not to eat or drink while driving, and to focus on the road2. • Drunk driving is also a major problem that spans age groups….but, with regards to teen drivers, inexperience plus impairment of reflexes and thinking can be particularly deadly. In 2022, 30% of young drivers between 15 and 20 who were killed in car accidents had BACs of 0.01g/dl2. PARENTS, BE PREPARED! Talk to YOUR young drivers and make them aware that driving is inherently dangerous: there are always risks. But, during the 100 deadliest days, being safe may not only save them from being sorry….it may save their lives! 1. https://newsroom.aaa.com/2025/05/the-100-deadliest-days-teen-driver-deaths-jump-in-summer-months/ 2. https://nrsf.org/100-safest-days-summer#:~:text=Some%20factors%20that%20contribute%20to%20the%20increased,behavior%20*%20Consider%20a%20defensive%20driving%20course
European import cars and trucks and their domestic counterparts have some pretty significant differences that manifest from fundamentally different priorities in their design and engineering. For example, European vehicles are typically designed to be smaller to better navigate the narrow, often winding streets of the older European towns. The larger frame sizes of “American Muscle Cars”, by contrast, were based around the concepts of POWER and spaciousness. And while European car designs tend to be more elegant and sophisticated in their aesthetics, American cars tend to prioritize more functional aesthetics, with size and practicality being placed above elegance. This dichotomy very concisely reflects the different cultural values of Europe versus the USA. In addition to being smaller, European auto design teams tend to value precision maneuverability and agility to a greater degree than American design teams. Being agile means better precision moves on narrow, winding streets, so, again, being small, fast, precise, and agile become functional outcomes of European architecture. The USA, with its “wide open spaces” doesn’t value those features to the same degree, where raw power on straight-aways and being built for long-hauls cross-country are more desirable. HOWEVER, speed limits are typically more tightly controlled in the USA than in Europe (think Autobahn), so top end speeds tend to be higher for European cars. European autos also have to conform to tighter environmental standard for emissions with their greater emphasis on environmentally friendly features. Hence, the emissions systems are more sophisticated and precisely monitored in Euro imports than in their domestic counterparts. If you’ve driven a Euro import and gotten a “check engine light” it’s usually due to malfunctions somewhere in the emissions system. Domestic brands also often lag behind their Euro counterparts in fuel economy as a result of the goal of minimal environmental impact. Lastly, transmission preferences are a major difference between Euro imports and their domestic counterparts. In Europe, manual transmissions are often preferred, but automatic transmissions are more popular in the USA, so a lot of Euro imports ARE equipped with them here. Regardless of YOUR preference, we’re here to serve YOU! With going on 43 years of continuous operation, and a crew of experienced, ASE-certified technicians, we’re known as specialists in European imports….but we also see a lot of domestic makes and models, too! Contract us if you need our “A-Team” to work their magic for you!
At Ditmire Motorworks, we get to meet a lot of different people, ranging from people who have been driving Euro imports for decades to people who are new to them. And some of the "newbies" can be a little nervous about how best to take care of their new rides. I can sympathize: I got my first Mercedes when I was in my 50's, and, like many, had heard that the maintenance was a bit of an ordeal. Well, it turns out it really isn't....it's just sticking to schedules. Hello, I'm Michael, and I'm the VP of Ditmire's (and Beth Harvie's Husband), and I thought I'd pass along some tips for new owners. An overarching thing I'd suggest: look at your car as an INVESTMENT....not just basic transportation. Doing the "right things" will fall out of that mindset: 1. First off, follow the recommended service and maintenance schedules that are prescribed for your car. This was always a little more loose when I drove domestic. I'm now sticking closer to the schedules and not putting stuff off. 2. Secondly, only use high-quality synthetic motor oils. When I began to look into this, it was easy and quick to see that this alone is a HUGE part of maintainenance. I also became mindful of my fluid levels: oil, coolant, brake fluids, transmission fluid, and power steering fluid. Just a little bit of attention to these can keep you problem-free! 3. Thirdly, be mindful of tire pressures and any driving issues which might be related to the tires/wheels. 4. Fourth, check belts, hoses, and batteries periodically, particularly in Winter. 5. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I was new to the Euro scene, and these cars are "computers with wheels", a long way from the '78 Buick Regal I started with back in the day! I was a customer of Ditmire's before I came to work here, and it didn't take me long to recognize the expertise that our technicians had. I felt like these guys were "partners" in taking care of Bruno, my Mercedes E350. I believed enough in them, I came here to help THEM!
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