All children are different. I have one that is so directionaly challenged it’s sad while another one can not only give you directions but also landmarks so you know your on the right path. Research the area around the motel for shopping malls and restaurants. Mark you daughter the offer of accompanying her, sharing the driving, going shopping and out to eat. Then let her make the decision.
My husband has an upcoming work trip that is just under 6 hours away. He’s grateful that he will be traveling there with 2 coworkers and back with one so that they can share the driving.
We’ve never driven more than maybe 3 hours on our own. Any other trip has been with someone else. Probably an especially good idea for me since I fell asleep and drove off the road once in college (2.5 hour drive).
I’d offer it to my daughters just as I would to my husband if he didn’t have a coworker riding with him.
My son and his girlfriend just did a 6+ hour east coast drive over the New Year that involved driving through big cities. They actually broke up each trip into two days and stayed in hotels (partly to do with when they started driving each day.) If going through big cities, a 6 hour drive can become an 8 hour one pretty easily if you hit rush hour, as I’m sure you know.
Rental may not be an option due to age. Young employees at our company have dis covered this the hard way.
Have her go the day before so she doesn’t have to fret about car details and can get a good night’s sleep.
A few years ago, I drove by myself from Dallas to Durham, NC to see D1. That’s about 18 hours, so I split it up into 2 days. It was fabulous. I listened to audio books or great music (or nothing at all), and saw beautiful scenery, especially through Tennessee and the mountains of NC. The solitude was marvelous.
I wouldn’t want either of my Ds to make that drive alone, though. My pathological worrying would have me in quite a state, I’m sure.
I also vote see how your D feels about it. 6 hours doesn’t seem like such a big deal even to me.
It doesn’t seem over protective at all to me, unless you insisted on going with her.
For a few years, until they could afford their own, I gifted my kids AAA memberships. That may have been over protective, but it gave me peace of mind.
Nothing really wrong with offering to accompany her, and respecting her wishes if she declines the offer. That being said, be careful how you word your offer. One of mine would likely be insulted or feel like I was suggesting I didn’t think he could handle the drive/hotel stay if I made that offer, Also, would she want her own hotel room so she could prepare for the interview alone?
I know my friend went along with one of her kids and stayed at the hotel when the kid was taking the bar exam to handle everything besides the test (getting breakfast, driving, etc).
It really depends on the kid. I certainly loved my parents and appreciated their support, but if I were going into a super stressful test or interview, I think it would have been more stressful to me to have them come with me. I would feel like I couldn’t just focus on preparing by myself, especially if we were sharing a room. But if it was not a super stressful interview that required a lot of prep, I might really welcome the company and the opportunity to spend time together.
I used to have AAA but dumped them after they didn’t come for 4 hours while I was stranded on the side of a highway. My sister had the same experience. Re car rentals, some companies will rent if you are older than 21, but you have to pay more than if you were 24 plus.
Different cities, different offices of different franchises will allow under 24 and some have a low surcharge. Have to check (and confirm with the local office.)
Here’s the thing. If nothing happens with the old, barely reliable car, fine! But you do planning on the chance it could. What then?
Even if D is going to city she’s familiar with, I’d get D a room as near interview site as possible, preferably across the street, even if it costs more money. If there’s still time before interview and you haven’t done so already, I give D one of our credit cards (authorized user) for use as back up. Ideally I’d make the room reservation on that card as well.
Whether you go with her or not, when she gets back, I suggest you fix the car so it’s reliable! I wouldn’t want my child (or me or my husband) driving in an unreliable car even if it’s only an hour away. And if it’s not worth it to make it reliable, then get a reliable vehicle. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.
Does she want you to come? I don’t think it’s overprotective. I don’t even like my husband driving 6 hours by himself. Plus it’s winter.
My kids all travelled alone at times through late high school and during college. Not all kids do, though. If she wants you to go with her, go. The larger issue is the car, in my opinion. I wouldn’t be making a six hour drive anywhere in a car with duct-taped components, let alone having one of my kids do it. Renting a car may be an issue if she’s younger than 25 so that may be your way of explaining why you should go with her!
Good luck to her in the interview!
If you have USAA, they waive the under-25 surcharge for rentals. Check your auto insurance – they might have a similar provision.
S1 did interview travel solo, but he was flying out of his college town, so it made no sense for us to be involved. S2 has worked locally, so we haven’t had that issue yet. If he were interviewing somewhere else and it would be a place I’d like to visit, I’d pitch going along and doing my own thing, but it would be his decision.
I’m in the pool of folks who love to drive long distances, stop at quilt shops along the way, and blast my music. I’ll drive from MD to GA in one day.
I can’t drive long days by myself without audiobooks. 
I would suggest that she visit the library and get three. (Extra in case she doesn’t like one, and in case one has a cd that won’t play, which has happened to me quite frequently.)
The things I’d be concerned about are her level of experience as a driver and the reliability of the car. I think that she should leave early enough the day before so that she isn’t driving in the dark and doesn’t have to worry about traffic jams, breakdowns, flats, or getting a little lost, so that she can be relaxed. If she feels sleepy, she’ll have time to pull over and take a nap. (NOT in an isolated spot in an unlighted/lightly-used rest stop, and keep the doors locked! That applies to everyone. Michael Jordan’s father was killed at an isolated rest stop in VA, I believe.) A free-standing device charger sounds like a good idea, too. She should not let the gas in the car get below a quarter of a tank. If you really want to allay your worry, since it is winter, insist that she take a couple bottles of water and something really warm like a down comforter that she can stick in the back seat. Maybe a couple of Clif bars or whatever. Everyone should have a working flashlight in their car, and an emergency kit with cones and flares. If you haven’t gone over this stuff with her–or don’t have them in your own car!–this would be a good time to do so. You can make it clear to her that it is a matter of common sense for everyone, not because you don’t trust her.
BTW, folks, we have been using Roadside Assistance that comes with our auto insurance or from the auto manufacturer for years. No AAA membership required. And they have always provided good service. (Just last week I had a flat on a highway in the dark where it was impossible to pull all of the way off because of snow and ice and it was too dangerous to try to change the tire myself. The guy arrived within 20 or 30 minutes and fixed it. )
6 hours is nothing to me or anyone in my family, but it might be to the OP. 12-14 is about my max before I begin to look cross-eyed while holding the steering wheel. I think you can offer to ride along, but I don’t think it is a “must do.” If you D senses it’s because you’re concerned or that you don’t think she can handle this adult step on her own she might say “no,” but if she wants your company or might think it fun to have someone at the hotel to download with she may very say tell you to go along. I think worry about “which car” and then just ask your D. One company had a 6 hour limit for choosing to drive vs. flying. Many places if you factor in the getting to the airport, the time at the airport for check-in, TSA and all that before boarding and the flight actually pushing away from the gate or two airports if you can’t find a direct flight can easily consume 6 hours of a day.
check on flights may be relatively cheap and quicker. Just a thought
I’d get a rental if family car is not reliable. That worked very well for us recently.
NO, it is not over-protective to offer to accompany her. My friends and I often ask each other to do this and try to make necessary trips into some kind of fun. A 6 hour drive is long. My D drives 5 hours each way to college but she is now used to the roads and navigating through the small cities along the way. My bet is she’d love to go the day before, spend the night in a hotel, have a nice meal with Mom, get a good nights’ sleep and be on her best for her interview. You can find something to do while she is there, let her take the car and show up by herself of course, that goes without saying.
I see no problem with riding along if your D would like it. The company could be nice if she wants it.
Several years ago, my “at the time” recent college grad was applying for jobs and getting minimal responses. He finally got offered an interview at a company in NYC that he was very interested in. As we are only about an hour away from the city, he had done that trip many times on his own. He was going to take the bus in as he usually does and asked me if I wanted to go along. I said sure. I was not planning to go anywhere near the building in which he would interview - I would just walk around and browse until he was done.
We were on the bus headed to Port Authority. Half way there he received a phone call from the company. They told him they just hired the person they just interviewed. They were sorry and invited him to apply for future positions. Talk about disappointed, upset and angry! I said well, we are going to NYC anyway, let’s make the best of it. So of course, we did. We had a blast! Got lunch, then he took me to many of his favorite areas. We took the subway down to 9/11 Memorial area (memorial was not open just yet), walked along the waterfront area, went back up toward Central Park and I don’t remember where else (I was kind of focused on him). Then caught a bus home. I was so glad I was along as that would have been miserable for him to deal with by himself. He could have handled it, but it was nice he had someone along.
So if she wants you to go — go.