Learn Real English: Let's go on a road trip!

Hi. Welcome back to www.engvid.com.

I'm Adam.

Today we're going to talk about taking a road trip.

Okay? Because this is a very popular activity in Canada and in the US, and I'm thinking in

Europe as well, and probably Australia.

Big countries where people like to drive, they like to go on road trips, means it's

a long trip, you're driving everywhere, staying at hotels, maybe camping out in the woods,

all these things.

But a lot of things you need to do to prepare and a lot of things you need to know about

what to expect on a road trip.

Okay?

So, first, you're going to have to have some tools with you, you're going to have to have

some gear we also call it.

You're going to make sure you're prepared for anything. Okay?

Always have a tire gauge.

A tire gauge basically measures the air pressure in your tires.

You're measuring PSI, pounds per square inch.

You want to make sure your tires are full, you want to make sure that you're getting

the best mileage out of your car.

And you also don't forget your spare tire, the one in the trunk, or underneath, or wherever

your spare tire is.

Make sure that it is also full, because you don't want to be in the middle of nowhere,

have a flat tire, and then you go try to put on your spare and it's also flat.

What do you do then, right?

Then you have to hike to get a tow truck from somewhere.

Just in case, though, take a pump, like a pump to fill air.

If you can take a manual pump, you can take an electric pump.

Be prepared for flat tires - they do happen.

Also make sure you have a survival kit.

If you do get stuck in the middle of nowhere and nobody's going to be coming for a long

time, and the next town is far away and you can't really walk to it, you want to be able

to survive out wherever you are until a car does pass by.

What you want to have, you want to have some flares.

A "flare" means it's something you light and it makes this big, big light.

You put it on the road, people can see you from miles away.

If somebody sees it, they will come help you.

In the middle of the night if somebody is driving and your car is on the road, it's

dead, no lights on, they won't see you until they hit you.

This will make sure that they see you.

You can also just have reflectors.

So when a light from another car hits this thing, it becomes very bright, very easy to see.

You should also have some edibles.

Basically something to eat that won't go bad.

Nothing that's fresh, only dry, like nuts, or vacuum-packed things so you always have

food with you.

Make sure you have a blanket, make sure you have a flashlight, make sure you have some water.

If you're stranded, basically...

"Stranded" means...

One second.

"Stranded" means left somewhere alone without any help coming anytime soon,

so be ready for that.

Also make sure you have a first aid kit.

If you want to know what's in a first aid kit and how to use it, watch my other video

about first aid.

I talk about what should be in a kit, what you need to know for first aid.

Probably a good idea to have a GPS, global positioning satellite.

Okay?

So you always know where you are, where you need to be.

This will also make sure you don't get lost.

And if you are lost, how to find your way back to civilization so you're not in the

middle of the woods forever. Okay?

So, make sure you have all these things before you hit the road.

"Hit the road" basically means go drive, go for a drive, go on a road trip.

So we say: "Okay, everybody's ready.

Okay, let's hit the road. Let's go."

So, on the road, what are you going to need to know on the road?

First you need to know what HOV lanes - high-occupancy vehicles.

So some...

In some places that are very busy, usually in cities, the highways have one lane that

is saved only for people with...

Only for cars with two or more people in them.

If you're by yourself and you're driving in this lane and a policeman catches...

Or a police officer-sorry-catches you, that's a big ticket.

Stay out of these lanes unless you have two or more people.

In some places it will be three or more people. Okay?

High-occupancy vehicles.

You will also have to be ready for toll roads or toll bridges.

A toll is basically a fee.

You have to pay to use this road or you have to pay to use this bridge.

Always make sure you have some coins with you; quarters, dimes, whatever, so you can

pay for these.

Sometimes you can pay with, like, bills as well, but always make sure you have coins with you.

Now, it's a very good idea to know your car's MPG, miles-per-gallon rate

or your kilometres-per-100-litre rate.

Why? Because if you're in a big country like Canada and you pass a gas station and you don't fill

up, the next gas station may be 100 kilometres away.

If you don't have enough gas in your tank to get there, you will become stranded in

the middle of nowhere.

Okay?

Know what your car can do, what it can't do.

If you know that you don't have enough to the next gas station - go in, fill up, move on.

Okay?

Keep your... If you're going into the States and you're from Canada or you're from any country that

uses metric system, 1 mile is 1.6 kilometres.

Keep that in mind as well.

And also keep in mind that the miles per hour is much lower than the kilometres per hour

even if you're doing the same speed.

Okay. Now, the gas station.

If you want to stop, get some gas, maybe get some food, use a washroom, we often call this

a pit stop.

You're driving, you're driving, you're driving, ah, you know what?

It's time for a pit stop.

Now, in car racing if you watch, like, Formula 1 or Monaco, etc., they drive, drive, drive,

drive, drive, and then they come in, change all their tires, get some gas, and keep going.

That stop is called a pit stop.

That area where they do all this work is called the pit.

But we use it in everyday language to mean take a break.

Take a pit stop, take a break.

You'll also see it called a truck stop where all the truckers, the big full trucks come

in, they rest, maybe they sleep, they eat.

Try to avoid these at nighttime a little bit if you're by yourself in some areas.

They're also called rest areas or a rest stop.

But all of them basically mean the same thing, you can go in, rest, take a break, probably

there's a washroom there, some vending machines.

Some of them will have restaurants, some of them will have vending machines.

Again, you need coins, put your coins, get your bag of chips or whatever you like.

Then you're back on the road.

Be very careful about speed traps.

A speed trap is an area where a police officer in his car, in his cruiser has a very good

hiding spot.

Okay?

And he's hiding and he's just waiting for you to come flying by.

And as soon as you pass him and you see him: "Uh oh", too late.

He already trapped you, he's coming after you, he's giving you a big ticket.

So be careful about speed traps where it's very easy to get caught speeding.

But then again don't speed, right? Everybody's very...

Doing the legal limit, everybody's good people.

No problem.

Now, sometimes you will have choices to make about how you're travelling.

If you had a good itinerary...

"Itinerary" is basically a plan, like where you want to be what day, which way you're

going to go.

But sometimes you will take detours.

A detour is a shortcut.

Or you wanted to go this way, but you changed your mind; you're going to go this way and continue.

So you go out of the way or you take a shortcut.

But the other option is to take the scenic route.

The scenic route is usually longer, but it's much more beautiful, there's more things to

see, maybe there's a place to stop and do some activity.

So you choose which one you want.

You don't have to go by your itinerary, you don't have to go by the plan.

Be spontaneous-sorry-be creative about it, do whatever you like.

You will also share the road, of course, with other cars and other motorcycles, but you

will also share them with rigs.

A rig is a big truck.

A semi is also a very big truck.

So big...

We call all trucks rigs.

The semis are the really long ones.

They usually have 18 wheels, so you have the tractor, you have the trailer, and the whole

thing is called a semi.

An RV, recreational vehicle.

All things that drive are vehicles, but a recreational vehicle is basically like a house

on wheels.

These are people who have...

It's a big... It looks like a big truck, but inside it's like a...

It's like a box, there's a bedroom, there's a washroom, there's a kitchen.

You can drive from one place to the next, set up for a few days, have like a little

vacation there, pack up, drive to the next place, etc.

And some people will just have a trailer.

They'll have their car or their truck, their pickup truck, and behind them they will be

pulling a trailer.

When they get to a trailer park somewhere, they open it up.

Again, inside maybe they have a bedroom and a little kitchen, and a washroom, or they

have other things in there.

So you're sharing the road with all these people.

Now, road trips are great fun, but you have to be prepared for them.

For example, from Toronto to Vancouver I think it's about 4,900 kilometres.

If you have two people driving 24 hours a day, you could probably do it in like 35/36 hours.

Most people take four days to drive from Toronto to Vancouver.

You go through the middle of the country where there's nothing, wheat, and sky, but then

you get to the Rocky Mountains and it's all the most beautiful place in the world.

You get to the other side in British Columbia, to Vancouver - all very beautiful.

But it really, really unenjoyable if you have any problems along the way.

Okay? And I speak from experience.

So, I hope all of this is helpful.

I hope if you come to Canada, or the US, or Europe,

you have the opportunity to take a road trip.

Make sure you have a good car, make sure you're properly equipped, make sure you know what

you're going to be coming across, and go have fun.

If you have any questions about this stuff, come to www.engvid.com.

There's a quiz there, you can check your knowledge of the vocab, you can ask me questions,

you can tell each other your stories about the road trips you've taken.

And if you like the video, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and come again soon

and I'll have some more good videos for you.

Bye-bye.