When to Say Tefilas Haderech
13. Lechatchilah, Tefilas Haderech is only said after one is on the road (שו"ע שם) and has left the city’s ibur, i.e., after passing all the city’s houses and then an additional 70 amos plus a bit, but within the first parsah of travel (רמ"א שם).
14. Today. Nowadays that the primary danger of travel is traffic accidents ל"ע (above, 8), not really bandits or wild animals, one can say Tefilas Haderech as soon as he leaves the city on the highway since accidents also happen within a parsah. One does not need to be worried and make sure there are no longer houses around since the tefilah was primarily instituted for intercity travel involving danger. Thus, even if there are some houses or small villages at the sides of the road, one can and should say Tefilas Haderech if he has left the city and the general speed of travel is higher, as the risks are greater (הגאון מטשעבין, שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"י סי' כ"א, חוט שני ריבית קובץ ענינים עמ' קמ"ז, תשובות והנהגות שם).
15. Forgot to say. If one forgot Tefilas Haderech at the beginning of the trip, he can say it at any point until he gets within a parsah of his destination city. Once he is within a parsah, he can say the tefilah without the ending [“ברוך אתה ד' שומע תפילה”] (שו"ע שם).
