How do you make a long car commute nicer?

Robisere

Auto box, Big Friendly Giant of a 2.0ltr TDci, comfy seats. Check for Roadworks on the night before leaving, note problems. Radio set to Gold, lots of '60's & 70's music on USB or CD (especially Creedence/John Fogerty). Small bottle of Volvic Lemon & Lime spring water. If I am going somewhere new, use PC to find decent food off the M-Ways. Listen to the soft snores of my navigator (missus) after the first 10 miles.

The music will not wake her, but stopping the car will!

vikingaero

Change your mindset. Driving to work isn't about doing it at 90mph and getting there asap. Leave earlier as others have said. I live 20 miles from work travelling along a boring dual carriageway. Nothing inspires me to rag it and get to work quickly so I normally travel at 60mph and listen to music I like at my preferred volume.

And a clean car makes a huge difference. Clean interior windows, clean seats, fresh smelling, regularly brushed mats etc. The exterior of the car will get dirty fast but the interior is what you see and touch.

Equip yourself with water, drinks, crisps, sweets etc. Those around you will be jealous as hell when you're feeding in a road closed situation. Nappy sacks make great bin liners and are less than £1 for a pack and you can pee in them too...

boliston

SailorSam wrote: »

Isn't it funny that everyone is listening to the Bbc, and yet whenever we've had a thread on here discussing licence fees, loads of people begrudge paying for them.

I like listening to the radio but have never had the slightest interest in watching an "idiot box" so have no intention of paying licence fees

Richard53

Clean and comfy car, as others have said. Seats, controls and mirrors adjusted to perfection. Good music of your choice on the player - if it's a long journey, why not try playing something outside your comfort zone and seeing if you like it? Water to drink, food if you need it. And again to repeat others, set off 5 minutes earlier and stick to steady speeds, rather than treat every commute as F1 qualifying. Aim to keep your heart rate, rather than your overall time, low. You will last longer that way, in every sense.

Rolandtheroadie

MataNui wrote: »

Maths.
I look at those road signs that say 'x miles to the next junction' etc. Then look at my speed and work out how long it will take. If i slow down or speed up because of traffic i recalculate. when i see another road sign i recalculate and see how accurate i am.

I know its pathetic. I just like to keep my brain busy, particularly on motorways.

I do this too. Answer the kids "are we there yet?" with "at 60 mph it'll take...."

Richard53

MataNui wrote: »

Maths.
I look at those road signs that say 'x miles to the next junction' etc. Then look at my speed and work out how long it will take. If i slow down or speed up because of traffic i recalculate. when i see another road sign i recalculate and see how accurate i am.

I know its pathetic. I just like to keep my brain busy, particularly on motorways.

Glad to see that someone else does this kind of thing. I am forever doing mental arithmetic while driving - speeds, distances, fuel consumption, miles/km. It keeps me awake and alert. Those car computers take all the fun out of it! (Unless, of course, you use mental arithmetic to check how accurate the car computer is - advanced level stuff.) Strange for someone who hated Maths at school, and was low average at best.

arcon5

SailorSam wrote: »

Isn't it funny that everyone is listening to the Bbc, and yet whenever we've had a thread on here discussing licence fees, loads of people begrudge paying for them.

That's because the license fee are ridiculously high and even those that don't listen or watch the BBC are still required to pay for it

Ebe_Scrooge

Richard53 wrote: »

Glad to see that someone else does this kind of thing. I am forever doing mental arithmetic while driving - speeds, distances, fuel consumption, miles/km. It keeps me awake and alert. Those car computers take all the fun out of it! (Unless, of course, you use mental arithmetic to check how accurate the car computer is - advanced level stuff.) Strange for someone who hated Maths at school, and was low average at best.

At the risk of sounding smug ... my kids are always amazed at how accurate my ETA predictions are. Over a distance of about 100 miles I'm rarely more than 5 minutes out ( unforeseen holdups excepted ). It's actually pretty easy - if you've got, say 80 miles of motorway and 15 miles of A road with a bit of town thrown in, then 60mph is a reasonable overall average speed all told. That's 1 mile a minute, easy peasy

molerat

After my boss moved me 40 miles I told him to stick the job up his !!!! and retired. The commute became a lot more bearable from then on :T

Mobeer

Leave late not early! Everyone tries to head out really early and the queues start at crazy times. Just let everyone rush in, then leave at a sensible hour and accept you may have to work slightly later too, hence missing the worst queues of the evening.