8 Road Trip Mistakes Alabama Drivers Still Make Every Summer

Alabama drivers taking the same road trip year after year fall into a familiar handful of habits each summer.

Here’s how those habits cost them.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Alabama’s traffic laws and fines are subject to change, so confirm the current rules with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

1. Skipping the Beach Express

Alabama drivers heading to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach still default to Highway 59, even though a free alternate route runs right beside it.

The Foley Beach Express became toll-free after the Alabama Department of Transportation bought the bridge for $57 million and dropped the toll booths on May 23, 2024.

Highway 59 still backs up hard on the season’s busiest days, and locals in Baldwin County know it.

Free doesn’t mean forgotten.

Traffic counts on Highway 59 dropped by roughly 47,000 vehicles during the week of July 4 once drivers started taking the bypass, proof that many cars were sitting in traffic they didn’t have to sit in.

Some drivers stick with Highway 59 anyway, out of pure habit.

2. Texting at a Dead Stop

Alabama’s hands-free law covers a phone in hand everywhere on the road, and many drivers still treat a dead stop in beach traffic as the exception.

It took full effect on June 15, 2023, after an initial warning period before citations ramped up in earnest, and it applies to a car stopped in a travel lane just as much as one moving at highway speed.

A first offense costs $50, a second costs $100 within two years, and a third rises to $150, plus points on the license each time.

Summer is exactly when this mistake multiplies: Highway 59 and I-10 traffic toward Gulf Shores can sit dead stopped for minutes at a stretch in July, long enough that checking a text starts to feel harmless.

It isn’t.

Under Alabama law, holding that phone during the stop is the same violation as checking one at 70 miles an hour.

3. Blowing Past a Stopped Car

Alabama’s Move Over law requires drivers to change lanes or slow down for any vehicle stopped on the shoulder with its lights flashing, and many summer road-trippers still hug the same lane at full speed.

That’s a costly habit.

A first violation of Alabama’s Move Over Act runs $200, a second rises to $250, and a third reaches $300, plus a minimum 90-day license suspension.

Summer raises the stakes because breakdowns spike when traffic does. AAA projects a record 72.2 million Americans traveling over the Fourth of July alone this year.

Alabama’s interstates receive their share of those cars, and every one stopped on a shoulder is a vehicle the law says drivers have to give room.

4. Skipping the Tire Check

A long summer haul is exactly when many Alabama drivers skip a quick look at their tires, trusting them the same way they did back in April.

Alabama asphalt under a direct summer sun runs far hotter than the air itself, and that added heat works against a tire already carrying miles of highway underneath it.

AAA expects to rescue about 7 million stranded drivers across the country this summer, and tire failure is one of the top reasons drivers call a tow truck.

Big mistake.

A five-minute pressure check before pulling out of the driveway costs nothing.

Skipping it can cost an afternoon on the shoulder of I-65 in July heat instead of a seat at the beach.

5. Driving Into the Storm

Alabama’s summer afternoons turn on a dime, and many drivers push straight through a downpour instead of easing off the interstate to wait it out.

That’s how a routine summer drive turns into a spinout on standing water.

Central Alabama saw exactly that risk play out when slow-moving storms dumped up to 6 inches of rain on Birmingham and Sylacauga in a single evening, flooding roads fast enough to catch drivers off guard.

Pull over.

A parking lot or a rest area beats hydroplaning through standing water on an interstate any day, and Alabama’s pop-up storms clear almost as fast as they roll in.

6. Trusting Last Summer’s Detour

Alabama’s roads change every summer, and many drivers still trust last July’s route to look the same.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) posted fresh lane closures on I-65 just this month, including a stretch near Fort Deposit that started Aug. 11.

ALDOT does pause new lane closures over the biggest travel weekends, like the days around July 4 and Memorial Day, but every other summer week is fair game for orange barrels.

It rarely does.

Checking ALGOtraffic.com before pulling out of the driveway takes less time than sitting behind a lane shift nobody warned you about.

7. Letting the Back Seat Slide

Alabama’s seat belt law used to stop at the front seat, and many drivers still act like it does.

Not anymore.

The Roderic Deshaun Scott Seat Belt Safety Act took effect on Sept. 1, 2019, after Governor Ivey signed it into law that May, and it made an unbuckled back-seat rider of any age a ticketable offense, carrying a $25 fine.

A packed summer beach trip is exactly where the old habit shows up, with coolers up front and extra riders packed loose into the back seat.

The fine is small, but the crash math isn’t, and Alabama’s rule now reaches everyone in the car, not just the driver.

8. Leaving at the Worst Hour

Many Alabama drivers still pick Friday afternoon to leave for the coast, right when Baldwin County’s traffic runs worst.

Gulf Shores’ traffic engineers track their own cameras and signals along Highway 59, and Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday come back as the summer’s busiest days every year.

Bad timing.