A new nationwide study of British parents, by Travelodge, has explored the extent to which the great British family road trip has changed over a generation.
According to the data, by the UK’s first budget hotel chain which operates 569 UK hotels, the average British family takes at least three long road trips a year. However 38 percent of modern families never play I-Spy on a car journey any more, while 36 percent have never sung a round of “ten green bottles” with their children and 33 percent say using an ordnance survey map is no longer relevant on a family trip.
Other nostalgic essentials of British road trips which are dying out within a generation include asking a stranger for directions (31 percent), packing a flask of tea/coffee/soup (29 percent), making sandwiches for the journey (28 per cent), hazardous hard-shoulder picnics, reminiscent of the 1970s (27 percent) and having absolutely no idea where the next petrol station is (24 percent).
Also realising you’ve been reading the map upside down the whole time (25 percent) and the dog hanging out of the window (13 per cent) were also on the list of activities which are losing favour with modern British families.
According to the survey, the all familiar cry of “Are we nearly there yet?” is not heard in almost a quarter of British family cars (22 percent), due to kids being glued to their I-pads / tablets, phones and game consoles.
Overall, 83 percent of British parents polled feel nostalgic about the family road trips they took when they were a child, while 85 percent think it is a shame that we are losing important family aspects of car journeys of yesteryear.
The findings also revealed that over half (54 percent) of adults miss playing the imaginative games that they played with their parents such as I-Spy, 20 questions and the license plate game whilst travelling. A third (33 per cent) of parents reported that their kids spend their whole time engrossed to screens in the back seat.
Three out of ten parents (30 percent) believe due to modern gadgets one of the major downsides of the modern road trip is families don’t interact and utilise this quality time. With 30 percent of adults complaining that their family stays silent on long car journeys nowadays, with everyone locked onto their own devices.
A further, 22 percent say that passengers have forgotten how to relax and daydream, while 29 percent say no one looks out of the window any more to appreciate the British countryside on road trips.
On the flipside, when it comes to what makes the modern car journey better, sat navs top the list at 46 percent, followed by proper air conditioning (44 percent) and improved motorways and better accessibility to holiday locations (36 percent).
In fact, sat navs are now so prominent a feature on a modern journey that the average Briton has not used a paper map in more than six years, while only 11 percent of people say they prefer using a paper map, rising to 20 percent of over 60s.
Interestingly, a third of those polled said they did not entirely trust their sat navs and also carry a print out of directions as a back up to help them get to their destination.
Shakila Ahmed from Travelodge said: “With 569 hotels dotted across UK, we are seeing a growing trend in more British families hitting the roads and taking multi-location holidays and Minications. As October half term break starts this Friday we thought it would be a good opportunity to shine a light on the traditional road trip and see how it has stood the test of time. Interestingly our research shows the retro family road trip has radically changed within a generation. However the carguments remain as popular as ever and now we are sharing all aspects of our journey and the actual holiday 24/7 with loved ones via our smart devices.”
Further research findings revealed that on the average road trip a family will easily chomp their way through four rounds of sandwiches, a family pack of crisps, a few packs of chocolates and lots of Haribo.
British families will also on average have three carguments about the journey/ directions, four loo stops and passengers will demand a change of music four times.
Music still remains a road trip essential with nearly half (46 percent) of Britons favouring the upbeat rhythms and catchy lyrics of pop music - followed by easy listening (22 percent) and dance music at 21 percent). Four out of ten (40 percent) families produce their own music playlist for the road trip and a quarter listen to an audiobook.
Detailed below are the top 20 essentials of the traditional British road trip that could soon be consigned to the history books
1. Games of I-Spy - 38%
2. Family sing-songs such as “ten green bottles” - 36%
3. Using an Ordinance Survey Map - 33%
4. Using the cigarette lighter - 32%
5. Getting lost and having to ask a stranger for directions - 31%
6. Arguments between the person reading the map and the person driving 30%
7. Making a Thermos-flask of tea or coffee for the journey - 29%
8. Making sandwiches for the journey - 28%
9. Stopping for a picnic on the hard shoulder - 28%
10.Playing 20 questions - 28%
11.Suitcases on the roof rack held on with bungee cords - 26%
12.Trying to find your way in the dark with no sat nav - 26%
13.Tins of boiled travel sweets - 25%
14.Realising you’ve been looking at the map upside down - 25%
15.Having no idea where the next petrol station is - 24%
16.Stopping at a pub to ask for directions - 23%
17.Kids asking “are we nearly there yet? - 22%
18.Kids having a blanket in the back seat - 18%
19.Eating tasteless service station sandwiches - 14%
20.The dog hanging out of the car window - 13%
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