Long distance driving approach

Robby1988

Get into podcasts & audiobooks. There are literally hundreds of fantastic documentary podcasts that can really get the hours on the road flying by, same for great books really well read out. I'm a lorry driver & sometimes can't wait to get back on the road to carry on listening.

Costa coffee from services is inevitable, collect the loyalty points to save money.

Use cruise control wherever you can, it makes a massive difference.

Learn to read the road far ahead so your not on the brakes all the time & keep your distance, also don't feel the need to keep up to the speed limit all the time. Chill. It makes for a more relaxing and less stressful drive on the busy stretches & makes naff all difference to your journey time really.

Oh and please keep left.

Ganga

The best advice is as soon as you feel tired,pull in at the first place when safe to do and have 40 winks,having coffee will only try and keep a tired person awake not necessarily alert.

Ebe_Scrooge

Some great advice on this thread. My trick is to go for something "spoken word" on the audio front, rather than music. Music you can kind of listen to halfheartedly and doze off. If you're listing to something that's interesting, I find you tend to stay alert and concentrate on it. Whether it's an audiobook, podcast, a radio comedy show, whatever floats your boat - if it's something you find interesting you'll tend to want to stay awake to concentrate on what's being said.

clarkey1984

One thing I do, which I highly recommend, if you've got a car that has cruise control, do NOT use it, it makes things unspeakably boring and far more easy for your focus to wander, I find anyway.

Aylesbury_Duck

Tuck in behind a coach advertising free WiFi and watch YouTube videos, whilst saving fuel from the slipstreaming.

silverwhistle

I used to live in the Italian Alps and did the trip to and from the channel a couple of times a year, and in older cars too.



On the food front I did little and often and nothing to give you a sugar surge and then collapse. When tired I'd pull over, set my phone alarm and have 15/20 minutes of complete relaxation - shut eyes and drift off to sleep. No longer otherwise I'd go too deep. That was enough for me. YMMV.

gozaimasu

onwards&upwards wrote: »

If you’re so tired you need to do that s, you need to stop and rest.

It's not about being tired, it's about being bored, coupled with the repetitive motion. Like how people fall asleep on trains when they're not tired.

AdrianC

gozaimasu wrote: »

It's not about being tired, it's about being bored

If you're getting bored on British motorways, you simply aren't paying enough attention to what stupidity the traffic around you is up to.

onwards&upwards

gozaimasu wrote: »

It's not about being tired, it's about being bored, coupled with the repetitive motion. Like how people fall asleep on trains when they're not tired.

It depends on the situation, sometimes it is about being tired.

Being aware of your own fitness to drive is the key, and being sensible enough to recognise when you aren’t rather than ploughing on regardless as though it’s a matter of pride to be able to go x miles or y period of time without stopping.

spiro

The company I am currently working for insists you take a 20min break after 2 hrs of driving.
As others have said, as soon as you start to feel tried, stop.