Skip to main content

Kids in Cars: from curious to furious during the summer road trip

Kids start to complain about the amount of time in a car after two 2 and 23 minutes of driving, according to research in the UK. Around that time, the driver will hear from the back seat the first of a long list of complaints: “Are we nearly there yet?” And by 2 hours and 37 minutes, angry rows have broken out. These squabbles are almost inevitable, noted the study from the UK’s Highways England. Nearly 80% of families say kids quarrel during long-distance summer trips. Many parents said this ha
August 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Here at last, and about time, too.
Kids start to complain about the amount of time in a car after two 2 and 23 minutes of driving, according to research in the UK.

Around that time, the driver will hear from the back seat the first of a long list of complaints: “Are we nearly there yet?”

And by 2 hours and 37 minutes, angry rows have broken out.

These squabbles are almost inevitable, noted the study from the UK’s Highways England. Nearly 80% of families say kids quarrel during long-distance summer trips.

Many parents said this happens within the first hour of a trip. For that reason, Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Highways England’s director of customer operations and a father of four, urged driving dads and moms to take a break sooner rather than later.

“A decent break should help stop kids being bored and hopefully prevent arguments from stressing your family before you’ve reached your destination,” he said. “Our survey suggests parents should plan a break around two hours in, to help young passengers cope with the boredom.”

In total, 291 drivers completed the online survey, which showed the average summer journey would last 3 hours and 49 minutes.

Despite the length of the journey, 55% of drivers said they didn’t plan to take any breaks during the trip, other than quick toilet stops.

Around a quarter of respondents said their summer journey would take more than 5 hours and 16% said they planned to travel non-stop.

“Drivers who plan their trips tend to have better journeys,” said Sheldon-Wilson.

“They factor in time for rest stops, so the driver can re-focus and the kids don’t get bored. They also spend time choosing the best route – rather than blindly picking the fastest option in their satellite navigation system, only to find it’s anything but.”

Related Content

  • £200 million UK road junction project
    March 3, 2025
    Work is going ahead on a £200 million UK road junction project.
  • King is queen of cone laying
    December 9, 2021
    A second automated cone-laying vehicle, this time from King Highway, is completing off-road trials with England’s National Highways agency.
  • Speakers at Case forum push for infrastructure improvements
    January 6, 2017
    Everyone talks about the crumbling US infrastructure. Case Construction is doing something about it. On Thursday, the company held a forum on “Dire States: The Drive to Revive America’s Ailing Infrastructure.” The Dire States program is a combination of efforts by Case and other partners to create a long-term solution to the nation’s infrastructure challenges. The need for improvements is not in question. Dan McNichol, a panellist and author, travelled the US and discussed infrastructure everywhere he wen
  • Speakers at Case forum push for infrastructure improvements
    March 7, 2014
    Everyone talks about the crumbling US infrastructure. Case Construction is doing something about it. On Thursday, the company held a forum on “Dire States: The Drive to Revive America’s Ailing Infrastructure.” The Dire States program is a combination of efforts by Case and other partners to create a long-term solution to the nation’s infrastructure challenges. The need for improvements is not in question. Dan McNichol, a panellist and author, travelled the US and discussed infrastructure everywhere he wen