Don't wear corduroy and other long distance driving hints
Replies: 29 - Last Post: Oct 11, 2012 1:37 AM Last Post By: ianw6705
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16
in your absence there has been a strong tendency for the punters to be advised to do vast distances, either on particular days, or as an average over a longish road-trip.
Whom, exactly, have you seen advising this?
If I catch someone with such a plan, I try to rein them in every time. So do all the other regulars I know of.
--M.
17
By vast distances, Ian seems to meen anything over 150 miles. That's not even three hours driving. If you leave at 7:00 AM you can manage 300 miles by lunchtime and have the whole afternoon and evening to see wherever you've got to. For many places that's all you need. For some places it's more than you need.18
Listening to a portable device through sound-admitting headphones lets you crank the volume while others are asleep.
And may be illegal. It is in 18 states.If you are doing genuine long-haul, sit behind the wheel for 8 hours driving, try a lower back (lumbar) pillow, if the vehicle doesn't have one of those adjustable lumbar things. A real lumbar pillow is best, but even a cheap roll pillow from Walmart can make a difference. In a pinch, if your back strats aching, try wadding up that jacket & putting it behind your lower back.
Also for long haul--get out and run around a bit at gas stations or rest stops. You may look like an idiot dong jumping jacks in front of the restrooms, but is sure beats a blood clot.
If you are a US resident who will be returning home, and your car has a CDC player, get books on CDs from the library and listen to those.
20
A Tush Cush works wonders for that, as well as preventing a numb butt.22
Even though you can safely exceed the speed limit by 5 to 8 mph without much danger of getting a ticket, never pass a cop who's doing the speed limit. He will consider it a direct challenge to his manhood and will pull you over. Do not speed on the last day or two of the month. They don't have quotas, but they have quotas.23
Three more rules about long drives:(1) Stop at least once every 2.5 to 3 hours, whether you feel like you need it or not.
(2) If you wait to call it a day until you feel tired, you've probably waited too long. Don't push it.
(3) Under no circumstances should you drive more than ten hours total in any single day--and even that amount puts you into the danger zone. This last rule is mandatory for long-distance truckers, and a good idea for the rest of us.
--M.
Edited by: mrpenney
24
Four more rules for long drives:(1) Have a nice early breakfast (especially if it's free at your motel)
(2) Know where you're going to be sleeping that night before you go
(3) Take a Thermos - for coffee and picnics in wondrous places along the way
(4) Plan your drive so you've kicked back and having a chilled wine no later than 5:00pm
Never failed us yet.
28
I can drive 6-7 hours max, regardless of miles, fatigue sets in...That's about us ... leave at 8:30am, stop at 4:30pm, with an hour of breaks minimum during the day. On our recent 5,000mi opus through the North/West, our longest day was 420km (Missoula MT to Red Fish Lake ID, via US93 through the Bitterroot Valley). But everyone's mileage varies, and depends totally on whether you are a commuter who's done it before, or a furriner who will only come by that way once.
29
Hey - hold the phone here ... it's not an endurance race! We choose to do 7 hours over about 8-9 hours because we're tourists and actually want to experience stuff, not race like some mad March hare across the countryside, with a manic eye on the speedo and the miles done. Nothing to do with tiredness - for me, anyway. We don't even use a GPS because we like looking at maps ... and getting a bit lost as well.
