Road Trip Etiquette

"There seems to be no etiquette for motoring, but surely there is nothing that needs laws of good form more than this..."

WHY MOTORISTS BUY ROADSTERS

H.O. Harrison Discusses Etiquette of Motor Car and Points Out Mistakes

The owning of a touring car at times is a serious problem to the man of moderate means. Many an owner takes pleasure in entertaining his friends with his motor car, but has found that holiday trips and extended outings are expensive. The expense has not been so much that of the motor car, but the money that has been paid out for entertaining guests at luncheons, refreshments, and on the more pretentions trips to the hotels. 

A man who takes his family on a day's outing generally provides himself with a luncheon which is enjoyed by his household underneath the shade of some wayside tree. On the other hand, when there are guests aboard, it is generally a much more hurried trip, covering as much ground as possible for the benefit of those being entertained. This means a stop at some of the larger hotels. 

H. O. Harrison of the H. O. Harrison Company, in speaking of the existing conditions, says that if guests would appreciate these facts and act accordingly, invitations for motor trips would be much more frequently given. He said: "There seems to be no etiquette for motoring, but surely there is nothing that needs laws of good form more than this. I have found from personal experience and from data gathered from owners, that the owner, when he furnished the car, pays for gasoline, oil and tires, is bearing his share of tha expense and that the money spent for luncheon, hotels and so forth, should be borne by the guests."

"Then there is the person who always takes the front seat with the driver. This is always the desirable seat in a motor car for riding, and for the view, yet how often do you see a person start out in this seat at the beginning of a trip and never give it up until home is reached again? Not once do such persons ever offer or insist upon exchanging with some one in the tonneau." 

"These are but two points that come to mind. There are many other niceties of life, which, if overlooked in the daily social intercourse, would stamp one as a bore and a cad. The phenomenal development of the motor car has been so rapid that through the rush of enjoying it, owners and guests have, through thoughtlessness, overlooked little things which would greatly enhance the pleasures of motoring." 

"Now that the automobile has become an accepted mode of conveyance it is up to the dictators of good form to lay down rules which will clearly define the position of the owner and guest to one another, just as it has been done in yachting." 

"When this is done, those deserving of an invitation will find that their presence will be welcomed in their friends' motor cars. It is for this reason that the roadster has become so popular." — San Francisco Call, May 8, 1910

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia