Many people enjoy hitting the road in the summer. Road trips out of state are a popular choice for vacations for people of all ages. After all, instead of being stuck on a crowded, uncomfortable airplane, you can relax and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of your own vehicle.
There are trade-offs to road tripping instead of flying. One of them is that the trip will obviously take a lot longer. Another is that you will incur substantially more risk to yourself during a road trip.
The summer is a dangerous season for motor vehicle travel. Road deaths often increase dramatically during the summer, particularly in early July. Until school starts again, the chances of a crash for many people are higher than usual. Getting into a crash while on a road trip out of state is more than inconvenient. It can be a huge problem.
Expect very costly medical care for out-of-state treatment
The thing very few people think about when planning a vacation is what their health insurance will cover if something goes wrong. Most people think that if they have insurance, they will have protection if something bad happens. Whether travelers worry about food poisoning from sushi or breaking a leg while surfing, they probably assume that they will get the care they need.
While you may get treatment, you may also find that you have to pay a lot more for it. Most insurance companies negotiate directly with local doctors and hospitals for special pricing. That is why your insurance company has in-network and out-of-network costs.
If you are in a different state, there is a very good chance that every single medical expense will be out of network. That maybe quite expensive. In some cases, it could drastically increase your coinsurance or co-pay. In other cases, it may mean having very little coverage at all.
Even if you aren’t the one hurt, you may still end up paying
If you didn’t get hurt but your companion did, you may find yourself in a difficult situation. You are stuck in a different state, likely in a tourist area, and you will need to pay for everything you need until you can return home. That can mean securing housing, purchasing food and paying to repair your vehicle.
If you don’t know the area well, you won’t necessarily know the most cost-effective or reliable resources. You may also find yourself stuck there for some time while you wait for your injured traveling companion to receive medical care.
These costs can quickly double or triple the overall expense of your vacation. Add more missed days from work, and that is a financial disaster waiting to happen. If you or someone you care about got hurt while on a road trip and the crash was caused by someone else, you should definitely explore your right to compensation for all of the costs incurred as a result of the collision.