Americans love of their automobile travel in general is legendary and globally acknowledged. And so many extraordinary sights to see; the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and The Great Plains to name a few. In fact, we’ve been traveling since before we were even a young nation as our settlements expanded from the East Coast to the West Coast. It was difficult than, and now it would be far too hazardous a trip to make without roadside assistance.
We have been a nation on the move since the pioneer days. Back then our travel was more driven by the need to expand and find for each individual a place and means for sustenance. The west was as romantic back then as the movies portrayed it, full of promise and wide open for the entrepreneurial spirit.
Contrary to the romanticized version seen on television, travel by wagon or horseback was difficult and dangerous. With nothing more than a trail and a guide, these trips were a role of the dice with your life hanging in the balance. If you were lucky enough to avoid the violent weather you still had to deal with lethal animals and native people intent on preventing your progress.
As time passed, the draw for communication with all parts of the country drove the development of lines of communication. Congress designated first the waterways then the railways as official postal routes designed to keep us all connected. Still for a long time that only reached as far west as Saint Joseph, Missouri. The real west was still wild and unconnected. This spawned the creation of the pony express, but it would be many years later before there was true interconnection.
The transcontinental railway was completed in 1869 and provided the first truly line of communication spanning the continent. The first roadway spanning the nation was the Lincoln Highway spanning nearly 3,400 miles from to Times Square in new York to Lincoln Park in California. With this highway the American love for travel was launched.
Ever since then the roadways of America have grown and connected every municipality we created. A second major travel related boost was the development of the Interstate Highway System begun in 1956. Developed to assist business and leisure travel within the US, it was also a means fro moving military logistics across the nation in times of crisis.
This notion of assisting with the national defense is the answer to a number of trivialities about the roadway. The answer to why there is an interstate in Hawaii and Alaska is answered by the connectivity between military bases in these two states, as the original bill authorizing its construction was also a national defense endeavor. Also one mile out of every five miles is straight, allowing it to be used as an emergency landing field if it is necessary (more prominent with CAA insurance).
Hollywood has embraced and immortalized the American love for their automobiles and their love of travel in movies. They have also captured the scarier possibilities with horror movies that often includes a hitchhiker picked up on a highway. The worst one might expect to face on the highways these days is an automobile breakdown. As long as you have roadside assistance, even that unfortunate occurrence is eliminated.
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With CAA insurance, you can feel relaxed if you face a vehicular emergency. And who knows? You might even win a Las Vegas vacation package if you accrue enough points in some CAA insurance packages!