SALT LAKE CITY — We've all been there at one time or another. You get to your hotel or AirBnb, open your bag, and you forgot toothpaste, or your laptop charger, a razor, or something else.
It’s all too easy to leave an essential item behind. In an attempt to help AAA Utah uncovered the most common items travelers overlook and created a checklistfor those hitting the road.
AAA surveyed more than 2,000 travelers, including those in Utah, and revealed most travelers (51%) forget an important item when traveling. The five most common forgotten road trip items:
- Toothbrush or toothpaste
- Cell phone charger
- Hair related products (brushes, razors, product)
- Underwear or socks
- Other articles of clothing
Some other interesting statistics from AAA's survey:
- Californians (38 percent) are more likely to forget sunscreen than their desert-dwelling neighbors in Nevada and Arizona.
- Half of Utahns (50 percent) surveyed say they have forgotten cell phone chargers.
- Californians (35 percent) feel the most stressed when they've left something important behind for themselves or their children.
- Arizonans feel the least stressed if their partner or spouse forgets something important (14 percent feel little stress compared to 11 percent of all respondents).
- Alaskans feel the most irritated when they forget something important (58 percent compared to 45 percent of all respondents).
- Forgetfulness isn't limited to the outbound portion of a trip. Thirty-five percent of all respondents admitted they'd left a cell phone charger behind at a destination, the most common item left behind on a road trip.
Generational Divide: AAA Utah found Baby Boomers on average forget one or two items. Meanwhile, Millennials and Gen Zers are likely to forget three or more things.
Methodology: AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah surveyed 2,204 individuals in the US ages 18 or over who have taken a road trip in the past two years, or plan to take one in the next year, that reside in the state of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Alaska or Wyoming. Fielding took place in May 2021.
