Motorways part 3 - The speedy and the sleepy

The lack of a stimulating environment on a motorway can often make you drowsy, this can be exacerbated by other factors such as the monotonous background noise of wheels on tarmac. You are advised to keep your windows closed to minimise this noise, but ironically when you DO get drowsy it is advised you open your windows to let in some fresh air. What to do when you feel drowsy on the motorway is a popular question and you will be invited to choose more than one answer, (1) opening windows is a quick fix only until you can (2) leave the motorway by the next exit and find somewhere safe to park up and rest for a while (20 mins approx). Hopefully that next exit leads to a service area where you can (3) get some bad coffee or (4) walk around for a while. While you are at those services be sure not to indulge in a heavy meal as this will also make you drowsy all over again. Ever see your dad and granddad falling asleep after Christmas dinner?  Mine too. The science bit, when you have a big meal, (granted, you may not have Christmas dinner every time you stop at a motorway services but how about a full English? A Kentucky?) your body needs to commit much of its resources to digesting all those complex carbs (which is why you will feel drowsy whilst it performs this task) That won’t be in the test.


Leaving the motorway at the next exit is always advised when you are feeling drowsy, it is also the answer to another popular question of how to take a call from your mobile while driving. Don’t by the way. If you really need to respond to a call then find a safe place to park before answering that itch. On a motorway this will mean leaving at the next exit, a safe place to pull over is NOT the hard shoulder this area is reserved for breakdowns. Talking of mobile phones a statistic to keep in mind is that you are 4 times more likely to crash if you choose to answer the call whilst driving. Think of the advert phones 4 you as a way of remembering this as it is in the DSA’s question bank.


We will be leaving the motorway in about two or three posts from now but if our journey along the motorway was a longer one then travelling at a constant speed will normally improve journey time (remember this). Speeding and trying to get ahead of the game is often false economy as our road network gets ever more congested. When you find yourself with such a person tailgating you (driving too close to your rear bumper) they are often doing this to try and bully you into going faster or moving out of their way. This person will be carrying stress and you remember what I said about transferring stress in the previous post? I want you to become a more professional driver than that tailgater by not enter into a conflict. (Assuming you cannot reasonably return to lane one) the only thing you need to do in this situation is extend your own safety gap from the car in front. The reason being if the car ahead brakes suddenly you can now brake a little more gradually in the extra space you have given yourself, thus preventing your tailgater from colliding with you. www.facebook.com/TheoryTestNovel http://twitter.com/theorytestnovel