Staying awake while driving tips?

[nazzamataz]

Hi all,
In the next couple of weeks I’ll be on a round trip of approx 6 hours driving in one day (320 miles). I rarely drive this type of distance in one go. I realise 6 hours is probably not much for some but I’m only averaging 15 miles a day!

As I’m travelling with family I’m thinking about staying over somewhere cheap to combat getting tired on the return journey.

If I don’t stay over any tips on staying awake on a long drive?

I hate getting that nodding off feeling whilst driving!!!!!!

[MDT]

stop when you get tired and get a coffee..... you could kid on you are driving an EV and just stop for 35 mins to charge to 80%

[loskie]

stay over
get the train


Don't risk you or you family's safety.

You are talking about 160m one way?

It's not massive but if you aren't used to it and because of that you may be a little worried you may also not get a good sleep the night before.

If you can afford to stay over.

[TGTiff]

FFS I drive that to work at 2am on a monday morning
Cumbria to Somerset
Then back on Friday night
Get a grip!!

[Brainpox]

If you're prone to feeling sleepy behind the wheel then no number of tricks will help. I used to have a 1 hour commute after a 16 hour night shift and on bad mornings no amount of keeping the window open or necking caffeine would stop my eyes closing and I would wake to the sound of branches on country lanes rubbing along the side of my car. It's truly terrifying. The problem is when you're tired, you fall into tunnel vision, and the world passes you by without you really acknowledging anything going on around you.

6 hours is not a long drive especially when you consider how many hours HGV drivers put in on a daily basis. But if you can't manage then a train or taxi or splitting the journey with an overnight stay somewhere is the only way.

[craigjm]

Six hour drive of 360 is easily doable without an overnight stay. Just plan at least one break half way for 30 mins or so. If you want to be more cautious then split it in to three legs and stop every two hours. I’m guessing most of it will be motorway driving. Once you are moving you will find it easier than you imagine but if you have the one and two stop strategy above in your head you can then decide which based on how well it’s going.

[littleredrooster]

Vehicle bingo, involve all the family.

First you need to spot an Audi, then a BMW, Citroen, Daf, Evoque…get the drift? If a badge on the car starts with that letter, it counts.

When you get to U, you’ll need an Up! or a Unicorn caravan

[nazzamataz]

TGTiff said:

FFS I drive that to work at 2am on a monday morning
Cumbria to Somerset
Then back on Friday night
Get a grip!!

so over 5 days that's averaging 120 miles a day, whereas I'm saying 320 miles in one day so that means… who cares lol

Dude, get a grip on your replies. Not everyone puts in the miles like you do.

For me the motorway part is the worst because it’s so damn boring

Edited by nazzamataz on Thursday 14th August 14:14

[littleredrooster]

TGTiff said:

FFS I drive that to work at 2am on a monday morning
Cumbria to Somerset
Then back on Friday night
Get a grip!!

When I was doing my little driving job in retirement, a typical day was Banbury-Carlisle-Cheltenham-Banbury…

[Timfy]

The only advice I can offer to avoid getting tired behind the wheel is to rest, it might mean an overnight stop if you’re not used to the miles and can’t share the driving but rest is the biggest weapon, even a power nap in the car can make a huge difference.

[DonkeyApple]

nazzamataz said:

Hi all,
In the next couple of weeks I’ll be on a round trip of approx 6 hours driving in one day (320 miles). I rarely drive this type of distance in one go. I realise 6 hours is probably not much for some but I’m only averaging 15 miles a day!

As I’m travelling with family I’m thinking about staying over somewhere cheap to combat getting tired on the return journey.

If I don’t stay over any tips on staying awake on a long drive?

I hate getting that nodding off feeling whilst driving!!!!!!

If you're getting the nodding off feeling on 7.5 mile journeys it might be worth seeing a GP.

Planning and Breaks. It's that simple. Everyone is different. But get good sleep the nights before and then have a rough plan as to how often you'd like to stop and what you'd like to do during that stop. It's much more relaxing to aim to stop before you start getting that nodding off feeling as you're acting ahead of the game not fighting a retreat.

For me, I quite like to have a walk around on a break. I personally don't see the logic in getting out of one seat to go and sit in another. I grab a coffee to go and just walk around whatever space there is drinking the coffee. For me, fatigue comes from being stationary. As the PHers who have met me over the years all instantly glean, I'm a man of action, a caged tiger.

But with a 6 hour drive you have the logic of a mealtime typically falling due within those hours so a nice long break for proper food is always good. I'd still throw in the walk before getting back in the car. It gets the blood flowing.

The other simple solution is the timing of your journey. I'll do a 500 mile run into the Highlands a few times a year. I break at 250 miles which is about 4ish hours as the car needs fuel at that point but it's around the time that I feel the need to stretch my legs. But I leave home in the early hours. Departing at 4am means you're absolutely wide awake, you miss the rush hour motorway traffic as you're arriving in the Lakes around 8am and you're doing so in time for breakfast, the papers, ablutions and a walk about. You're then completing the journey before the afternoon sleepy time window.

Also, don't eat potato people food. There's no nutritional value and all it does is create sugar and lard highs and troughs. Eat actual food etc.

[Dave Hedgehog]

as said plan one or two stops to break up the trip

if you have a newer car that has advanced cruise control that can keep distance and steer use it, it makes a huge difference to how tired you get on long boring mway drives

[wyson]

Depends on how old the kids are. If they are younger, I’d stay overnight.

With terrors, I basically double any journey time Google maps tells me, so I can deal with tantrums, wee breaks etc.

So for a Google maps journey time of 6 hours, I’d give 12, and hope that I make it in 10.

If they are teenagers and can sort themselves out on their phones, have more bladder control etc, that would be different.

Also, if its a day trip, anything more than 1.5h drive (Google maps time) each way, I really feel it the next day. Doesn’t matter if its a Sunday, but if I have to go to work, I would cap it at that distance.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 14th August 08:36

[Wacky Racer]

I tend to pull in, as soon as I feel sleepy, usually at motorway services, a quick 20 minute snooze and I'm good to go.

Not worth taking a chance with yours and others lives.

In answer to the question, don't have the car too warm and open all the windows. Maybe have an energy drink like Lucozade.

[Wills2]

A round trip of 320 miles so 3 hours or 160 miles each way? I very much doubt you'll have trouble staying awake but if it concerns you just split the journey up and stop half way if you think you can manage to drive for 1.5 hours without falling asleep?

[wyson]

Dave Hedgehog said:

as said plan one or two stops to break up the trip

if you have a newer car that has advanced cruise control that can keep distance and steer use it, it makes a huge difference to how tired you get on long boring mway drives

Massaging and ventilated seats are another one.

Donkey dudes food thing is a good shout. Definitely won’t do carbs. On long drives, I tend to stick to salads etc, that aren’t heavy on the stomach and won’t create an insulin slump.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 14th August 08:44

[andy43]

Dave Hedgehog said:

if you have a newer car that has advanced cruise control that can keep distance and steer use it, it makes a huge difference to how tired you get on long boring mway drives

This. Depends on traffic though - a busy M6 and it’s useless as it’ll leave more than a 3” gap between you and the car in front.
Somewhere I have a pic of my dashboard after a European drive showing 640 miles covered in 8 hours, the vast majority of it done with adaptive cruise and lane keep. Brilliant systems on quieter roads.

As already said, just break the journey up - not just physical stops, things like cabin temperature changes, adjusting the seat and/or lumbar, music on, music off, it all helps.

[samoht]

Personally I tend to find I get sleepy after dark. So I would if possible time your return so you don't have more than about an hour of driving in darkness on the way back.

[DonkeyApple]

Wills2 said:

A round trip of 320 miles so 3 hours or 160 miles each way? I very much doubt you'll have trouble staying awake but if it concerns you just split the journey up and stop half way if you think you can manage to drive for 1.5 hours without falling asleep?

It shows how different we all are. A three hour drive is just a normal sort of journey for me and as a result, it is for my children. They've been doing them without stopping en route since they were toddlers. And they're actually huge fun once they're talking as it's really good 1:1 conversational time with your children with lots of games to play. First one to scream when they see a yellow car may not have been one of my greatest ideas but it'll certainly stop you nodding off.

As a child my mother drove us every holiday to the NORTH! to stay with relatives. That would have been a good three hour drive but she didn't stop. And most weekends were two hour drives to the south coast.

I've generally just operated on stopping based on the fuel needs of the car. I've never had a car that'll do much over 300 miles so that tends to be when I'd stop on a long drive, somewhere 200-300 miles in.

But I do suspect it's very much something that is quite defined by what you are used to. I can imagine that for someone who doesn't often do long trips it can be more tiring and a different approach needed. Just like I couldn't do the long distance drives that others can.

[wyson]

DonkeyApple said:

It shows how different we all are. A three hour drive is just a normal sort of journey for me and as a result, it is for my children. They've been doing them without stopping en route since they were toddlers.

Dayum, this is like my colleagues niece who slept all night since she was 5 months old! They were actually really worried she wasn’t getting up to feed, but was perfectly healthy so they counted it as a blessing.

In a 3 hour journey mine would probably need to stop at least twice.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 14th August 09:07