Driving Long Distance

[Graham Ritchie]

One of the things I avoid is getting tired behind the wheel, back in the 1970s it really didn't take to much. I have considered it one of the most dangerous things about driving a car, and one you can fight as hard as you like, but the power of sleep will win. These days I seem to handle long drives much better than when I was younger.

The last time I drove long distance was to the West Coast and back in one day in our we Starlet to pick up our grandaughter. On the way back we had to drive through the mountains, it was pitch black and raining. We stopped at a hotel in Arthurs Pass on the way back where we had a meal "only ones there" and in particular for me to have a break before heading of into the darkness. Steven my son did text where are you? I replied we are having a meal and I don't intend to get behind the wheel until I feel up to it for driving around narrow winding mountain roads in the pitch dark.

We made it back alright, but I remember a mechanic friend of mine in Scotland who had fallen asleep behind the wheel and was tragically killed on Christmas eve, this was many years ago.

Anyway while watching the Mr Bean movie the other night, is a reminder that the only way to continue a long drive if you are tired is to stop and have a break, I you watch from about 2 minutes into this extract, you will see how the power of sleep for many is impossible to overcome.

[Osi Osgood]

An idea that I came up with, that at least, works well for me, is I made a "mix tape/CD", of all kinds of favorite songs, with different tempos, none slow or sleep inducing. As I drive long distance or over night, the different tempos cause my alert level to stay at there peak. I even put in a few songs that I absolutely hate, just to piss me off and that is a different kind of wake up, followed by an absolute favorite song that tells my brain, "Now, this is more like it!"

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Osi....

I like your idea of also adding music that you hate I will have to remember that one and try it out .

[Osi Osgood]

It works great! As a recording artist, there is some " music", so called that I have to get enraged and wonder how in the heck it got recorded in the first place, and that naturally, gets my blood up!

[Steve Klare]

We have a situation here!

Our son is going to college in western Indiana: if you could bear to go another hour and a half after you get there, you'd be in Chicago.

This is 12 hours in the saddle and 800 miles. It crosses the Bronx, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and almost all of Indiana. It's a sign of the vastness of this country that doing this drive you start in the middle of one time zone and just barely scratch the next one: there is the rest of Central time, all of Mountain time and then well into Pacific time before you reach San Francisco and run out of Interstate 80! You have just driven two days and not even crossed the Mississippi!

There's this awful moment on the way out when you cross the Delaware River and enter Pennsylvania. The mile marker there starts counting down from about 300, and you see this knowing that even after that passes zero you have all of Ohio and most of Indiana yet to come.

We've been splitting this in half: 6 hours, a night in a hotel, 6 hours the next day. It's just plain awful! You get through that first day and wake up in that strange bed the next morning resigned to the fact that you need to do it again!

When Steven came home for Spring Break, we tried something new: 8 Hours, night in a hotel, 4 hours. The second day he arrived in good shape just before lunch! He said that after 8 hours the night before 4 felt like nothing.

(This is the new plan!)

[Osi Osgood]

Not a bad stragedy at all!

[Steve Klare]

You know how you grow to appreciate your parents as you get to be the age you remember them? Well, this whole thing of driving out to Indiana has me thinking about my Dad.

These two things NOT involving George Orwell happened in 1984. One, I graduated from college, and two: my parents got this brand new Ford van, equipped for travel: two gas tanks totaling about 45 gallons, captains chairs, cruise control, great stereo and there was a fold-out bed and a dresser in the back. It even had a second battery so we could have electricity when we were camping and still be able to start the engine the next day.

So my Dad decided he needed a Voyage for this great craft: and we set sail for my Grandparents' house in Florida: 1100 miles and 21 Hours. He chose to drive it straight through: no Motel!

He drove New York to North Carolina and turned the helm over to me. I (22 years old) motored across South Carolina and rested, he (55 at the time) took it back and at some ungodly hour I don't even remember, parked it in my Grandparents' driveway.

Man, I wish he was here: even at 93, I bet he could put that van out in Indiana in one sitting!

[Mike Newell]

I found driving in US mind boggling. Stick at 55 miles a hour behind the same car for 6 hours. You know exactly when you are going to arrive because you are going at 55 miles a hour. Totally dependency on air bags so everyone sticks so close to each other. No wonder you have cruise control. Plus 🌲 trees trees trees 🌳 trees trees 🌲 trees. Did I mention 🌳 trees Also, no roundabouts or traffic lights least they wake you up 😴

[Steve Klare]

Mike, when did you drive here?

The speed limit in most of the US was raised years ago. As a matter of fact I did 70 most of the way to work this morning.

Driving in Germany was a treat!

-first trip I was 40: cruised at 100+ mph (160 kph) all day. Was passed by a Porsche 911 when I was doing 100 like I was parked!

-second trip I was 50: backed off to 85 and stayed in the middle lane a lot more. Before I understood how far this really was, I drove all the way from Berlin to Frankfurt. The roads are beautiful and smooth, but I found that the level of vigilance required to drive that fast, that far was exhausting! I needed a Beer when I got to the hotel: fortunately there was plenty!
.

Third time we were with Family for Christmas and my wife brought American Christmas there (They may never be the same again!). They rented us this huge American SUV for all the packages. I wanted to drive up to people, roll down the window and say "Hey! We're lost! Can you tell us how to get back to New Jersey?"

I drove into a parking garage sized for German cars and felt like I was going to clog some entrance tunnel with this thing!

Next time we will do as the Germans do and take the train!

[Douglas Meltzer]

Before the "Highway Beautification Act" (1972), you could always count on advertising billboards to keep you occupied.

[Mike Newell]

That trip Steve was 95 when I was young. It was about 2500 miles over 16 days but there were four of us sharing the driving. We stopped down the way Memphis Nashville Chattanooga . South Carolina down to New Orleans over to Texas. Worst day was New Orleans to Houston in one day. 55 is stuck in my head but could have changed from state to state

[Steve Klare]

Sure, these days areas like that often have 65 and 70 mph limits, and just like everywhere else, people add on a little extra: as much as they think the cops will allow. The key isn't to be going slower than the speed limit, but slower than the guy in the Corvette that just blew past and shook your car! He'll take your ticket! (-kind of a public service!)

I have driven in Texas myself -but mostly well South of there. I used to work in Mexico right at the Texas border, waaayyy down south, almost to the Gulf. My wife came with me once and we spent the weekend in San Antonio before we went to McAllen where my hotel was for the week. 200 Miles: not trees, but cactus and cattle. On the way there was one little town named "Alice" I had a bad feeling: Alice was an old girlfriend of mine..., so I bought gas. Alice helped me out (-at least that time!): there was nothing else in that last 120 miles and there just HAD to be buzzards overhead somewhere!