Hankook Study Shows More Than 50% Americans Planning Vacations This Spring

With this year’s winter weather waning, many Americas are ready and planned for spring vacation.

And according to the latest Hankook Tire Gauge Index, more than half of Americans (55%) are planning to take a spring vacation this year.

So, where are they going? Hankook found that drivers are looking to warm up with 31% planning to head to the beach and 58% planning to drive more than 100 miles for their next road trip.

No matter who is driving, there’s usually a debate over which car to take. Hankook Tire found that the roomiest ride wins with 33% of drivers that prefer to take the biggest car, followed by the best-maintained car (27%) and the car with the best gas mileage (26 percent).

Springtime often means people are looking to get out of the house and have a good time with more than half of Americans saying they regularly drive to social activities (54%) and visit family and friends (51%).

“Thanks to warmer weather, drivers are clearly excited to hit the roads this spring,” said Wes Boling, public relations manager for Hankook Tire America Corp. “Whether you’re preparing for a long car trip, for that much-anticipated vacation or simply heading out on your daily commute, make sure your car is running smoothly following the winter season to ensure you and your passengers arrive safely at your destination.”

The Gauge also revealed that about nearly one in 10 Americans (9 percent) only thinks about car maintenance when his or her car breaks down.

Hankook recommends making maintenance a part of drivers’ regular routines with the following tips:

Check your tires after going over a pothole for any damage.
Proactively keep an eye on air pressure as the weather warms up will also help keep spring travel smooth.
Check the spare! More than a quarter (29%) of Americans never check the air in their spare tire. Incorporating a quick check of the spare can keep you from being left in a lurch.

The Hankook Tire Gauge Index is a quarterly survey of Americans’ attitudes and opinions about all things related to driving. The latest installment of the survey, conducted February 5-6, 2018, polled 953 randomly selected Americans.