[Abhijeetsinha]

Here is an article of interest.
With automatic cars equipped with cruise control and access controlled highways, one needs to watch out for

"Explained: What Is Highway Hypnosis, Flagged As Major Cause Of Road Accidents"
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/expl...osis%2C%20also

I found driving a manual car on a highway more engaging than an automatic. In city drive both are ok

[Aditya]

Highway Hypnosis : A major cause of road accidents - Post moved to a new thead.

[catchjyoti]

Originally Posted by Abhijeetsinha

Here is an article of interest.
With automatic cars equipped with cruise control and access controlled highways, one needs to watch out for
-------------------
I found driving a manual car on a highway more engaging than an automatic. In city drive both are ok

This is a problem I sometimes faced in the US during day long / multi-day drives. So one of my friends recommended changing lanes from time to time so that I remain alert. I did that and it worked for me.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Abhijeetsinha

I found driving a manual car on a highway more engaging than an automatic. In city drive both are ok

Highway hypnosis is very real , gets to the best of us , regardless of their experience. The only saving grace is that the experienced drivers probably will know it's happening and back off , take a break or swap the drivers before it's too late.

MT vs AT won't matter at all for the type of highways that would cause a highway hypnosis, you are going to use only A& B pedals anyways. The Greenfield expressways could probably be devoid of anything interesting to look at other than moving landscape near the horizon, it's tough when the driver is tired , late night, hot afternoon after a meal etc.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Abhijeetsinha

With automatic cars equipped with cruise control and access controlled highways, one needs to watch out for

"Explained: What Is Highway Hypnosis, Flagged As Major Cause Of Road Accidents"

And so some...

Senior officers of the police force also said that one of the leading causes for so many accidents is highway hypnosis.

This is such a random label being applied to explain away multiple fatal crashes on just one expressway, and nowhere else in the country! Probably because someone came across the term and applied it quickly, without any kind of data or scientific crash investigation being done to pinpoint the root cause.

Highway hypnosis is a far lesser cause for crashes and deaths anywhere in the world, compared to causes such as fatigue / drowsy driving / microsleep (all of which are different, though the result, i.e. the crash, is the same).

“Highway hypnosis, also known as white line fever, is an altered mental state in which a person can drive a car, truck, or other automobile great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so”. – Weiten, Wayne (2003). Psychology Themes and Variations (6th ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thomas Learning.

Highway hypnosis is a trance-like state brought about by monotony and, to some extent, fatigue. Lack of auditory input (in-car conversations), or monotonous music (some commercial drivers play religious music like the gayatri mantra on an infinite loop) is a common cause. Frequently, highway hypnosis is suffered by single drivers, or a driver in a car where all the passengers are fast asleep for a long time. He will get into such a hypnotic state without showing any sign or symptom, which is common in case of fatigue / drowsy driving. The common manifestation is that the driver tends to track the car between lanes (or even ride lanes like driving a monorail), and does not alter speed around curves and turns. If his path is cut off by another vehicle, he may well brake / swerve to remain safe, but will have no recollection of having done so.

OTOH, fatigued / drowsy drivers will commonly show the following manifestations:

1. Yawning frequently;
2. Fidgeting in one's seat;
3. Rubbing face & eyes;
4. Rolling down the window;
5. Changing AC settings frequently;
6. Changing channels / sound volume frequently;
7. Driving faster / slower than usual;
8. Drifting across lanes;
9. Lights hurt one's eyes, so one uses the palm to shield from oncoming headlights, or the sun.

So labelling a crash as being caused by highway hypnosis is wrong, and contrary to what is being said, it is NOT a major cause of road accidents. Drowsy driving certainly is, but so is distracted driving (such as using a mobile phone, watching a cricket match live-streaming on a video screen, eating while driving, setting up the ICE while driving, etc.), drunk driving, and untrained drivers.

To draw a comparison, highway hypnosis is like sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers don't knock against furniture and hurt themselves. Drunk people do.

[supermax]

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

This is a problem I sometimes faced in the US during day long / multi-day drives. So one of my friends recommended changing lanes from time to time so that I remain alert. I did that and it worked for me.

Highway hypnosis is when the sheer monotony gets to a driver, and switching lanes is probably not a good idea to recommend to a person who is bored to the point of getting distracted, as switching lanes when bored might mean one ends up cutting corners, skipping necessary checks like blindspot checks, and the very act of fighting highway hypnosis might lead to a fatal crash. I've myself found turning off cruise control and manually keeping speed within a very narrow band, while continuing to perform all the regular mirror checks helps me focus more, and it's safer than changing lanes unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by Abhijeetsinha

Here is an article of interest.
With automatic cars equipped with cruise control and access controlled highways, one needs to watch out for

"Explained: What Is Highway Hypnosis, Flagged As Major Cause Of Road Accidents"
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/expl...osis%2C%20also

I found driving a manual car on a highway more engaging than an automatic. In city drive both are ok

I agree with the cruise control part, but not the manual part. At least on the motorways in Europe, one hardly needs to downshift. Once I slot into 6th, it stays there till it's time to exit the motorway The cruise control though, turning off helps me stay extra focused.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Highway hypnosis is very real , gets to the best of us , regardless of their experience. The only saving grace is that the experienced drivers probably will know it's happening and back off , take a break or swap the drivers before it's too late.

I think there's a bit of confusion about what's drowsiness/fatigue and what is highway hypnosis. The two are related, but not at all the same. Drowsiness is combated by sleeping well prior to a long journey, and fatigue is avoided by not driving too long. No amount of mental exercises can help 'fix' drowsiness or fatigue. Highway hypnosis though can happen even to well rested drivers. It happens due to little or no intellectual stimulation while driving, as long roads with little change of scenery and conditions get monotonous very fast. For this, using some mental exercises or adding some additional challenges can help alleviate the boredom. These totally different issues are often clubbed together, which is not a good thing.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

And so some...

This is such a random label being applied to explain away multiple fatal crashes on just one expressway, and nowhere else in the country! Probably because someone came across the term and applied it quickly, without any kind of data or scientific crash investigation being done to pinpoint the root cause.

Highway hypnosis is a trance-like state brought about by monotony and, to some extent, fatigue. Lack of auditory input (in-car conversations), or monotonous music (some commercial drivers play religious music like the gayatri mantra on an infinite loop) is a common cause.

To draw a comparison, highway hypnosis is like sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers don't knock against furniture and hurt themselves. Drunk people do.

True. Highway hypnosis is often used like an umbrella term, using it to represent all kinds of distracted/unfocussed driving. Real highway hypnosis can be countered with some mental exercises, but there's no solution to fatigue/sleep deprivation, except resting and sleeping more before a journey. Drowsiness is not highway hypnosis, though a bout of highway hypnosis can in turn trigger drowsiness.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by supermax

I think there's a bit of confusion about what's drowsiness/fatigue and what is highway hypnosis. The two are related, but not at all the same. Drowsiness is combated by sleeping well prior to a long journey, and fatigue is avoided by not driving too long.

I understand the difference but the 'fix' is the same. It allows the brain to be stimulated by a different activity, like searching for a good (you see a shiny copper samovar/boiler) tea shop, then savouring that tea along with some snacks and conversations.

A 2 hour drive in a modern car has no chance of fatigue from an effort perspective but you can still experience highway hypnosis. It is something to keep an eye out for especially on featureless toll roads.

[RunGaDa]

In the US monotony is more likely because of the ease of driving, long straight arrow like roads without turns, standardized sign boards.
Even th me GPS stops talking.
In India there’s no standardization of road signs. This is blessing in disguise as it keeps the driver alert. Also only recently there are roads which are straight, not many though. When straight I mean for tens of kms no turns.
I have experienced this in the US. The best way to tackle is to only drive when fully alert, keeping the knowledge of the road ahead. Get a buddy with you. Not just be alert yourself but be one step ahead by checking driving patterns of co-drivers. I have spotted a few who literally swept off. Honking at them allowed to avert trouble.

The highway patrol in the US are extremely attentive, they spot the wavering of car and stop you to check if you are tired, sleepy, exhausted or drunk.

I wish technology should play a big role in averting accident in case the driver doses off or gets caught with immobility due to long distance drives. A certain alert when going off lane, loud warnings of vehicles proximity, periodically warning the driver to take rest by pulling over. All these can help.

Also there need to be sufficient places to pull up safely and rest.

[narayans80]

I've had this experience only once when I got zoned out for several kms on Hyderabad-Solapur stretch. By that time I was driving for 14-15 hrs starting at 2am and evening sun barreling on my face.

These are all perfect recipes of falling drowsy. Except that I was driving too focused that I lost sense of reality. My missus who has been part of all my highway drives didn't notice at all, and I wasn't drifting off lane and was looking at mirrors, indicating and overtaking (pretty much all visual cues that I wasn't sleep driving) the entire while. And this was after a coffee stop after Basavakalyan.

Originally Posted by supermax

Highway hypnosis is when the sheer monotony gets to a driver, and switching lanes is probably not a good idea

How do you conciously pull yourself out when you don't realize you are in a trance. Having co passengers give you company is a good idea.

Highway hypnosis is often used like an umbrella term, using it to represent all kinds of distracted/unfocussed driving.

In reality they are antonyms

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

highway hypnosis is like sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers don't knock against furniture and hurt themselves. Drunk people do.

Not sure if you can put it in the same pan as sleep walking, where you are already out of your conscious capabilities once you drift into sleep. Unlike driving where you are consciously driving and slip out of it without realizing.

More like you are ultra focussed at work and you lose sense of time no?
--
These are more realistically possible in aviation, where you are focused on a vacant horizon where nothing changes.

Even in aviation, where you have tools like CVR, FDR. It is not possible to detect whether you've slept at the wheel or gone into a trance without a second eye. And these investigations run for year

So its rather amusing that officials are able to call this out in a matter of days

[sumeethaldankar]

Yup been there and experienced the trance like state while driving on the Mumbai Goa highway in the lates 90's and early 2000's. There are/were arrow straight rows at times and in those days private cars were less on the road and we would find spartan traffic causing one to just hold the steering and the "A" pedal while constantly gazing at the white stripes on the road pass by.

This used to cause a strange feeling and I would lose track of time. It would feel that I have been driving for hours while only minutes had passed. Neverthless the audio system or a quick chat with the passenger seated next to the driver (still paying full attention to the road) would help. I haven't been on the long road (except Pune) since 2003 so I don't know if I would experience this again as traffic has increased exponentially and there are just too many cars on the road. The newer long distance highways with low traffic could contribute to this though.

[Swapnil4585]

I had a chance to use the new Samruddhi expressway for a couple of times in the recent past.

My post might be a distraction (no pun intended) in this thread, but I was a little extra alert on both the occasions owing to the fact that both were in hot summers and that it being a cement road, the thoughts of tyre burst were constantly ringing bells in my mind despite the tyres being new and filled with Nitrogen. I did not exceed 90 kph at any point.

But yes, it is boring to drive on that road. If the driver of any vehicle cautions himself / herself before the beginning of the drive with some rules, then the hypnosis can be averted to a large extent.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Not sure if you can put it in the same pan as sleep walking, where you are already out of your conscious capabilities once you drift into sleep. Unlike driving where you are consciously driving and slip out of it without realizing.

Indeed, sleepwalking and highway hypnotism are not the same thing, but the reasonably good motor control that one has over one's body, without the brain being active - and no memory being retained of the episode - is where the two are comparable. Sleepwalkers are also capable of picking up the keys and going for a drive, without remembering about it - but they don't end up in a crash every time.

So its rather amusing that officials are able to call this out in a matter of days

Not only that, but labelling it as a MAJOR cause of road accidents = passing all the blame and responsibility completely to the driver, without accepting shortcomings of road design, driver training, etc.

And why would this Mahamarg be the only expressway to cause highway hypnosis (and so many crashes)? Why has no one ever said the multiple fatal crashes on the YEW or ALE or Purvanchal Expressway are due to highway hypnosis?

[clevermax]

Highway Hypnosis? What is that? Isn't that a first-world problem?

I don't think we'll ever get into Highway Hypnosis driving through KL roads. Every 500 milli-second gives you the next driving obstacle to overcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRnpaCAfDg

[vijaysrk]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Highway Hypnosis? What is that? Isn't that a first-world problem?

I don't think we'll ever get into Highway Hypnosis driving through KL roads. Every 500 milli-second gives you the next driving obstacle to overcome.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=hNRnpaCAfDg

Good point! And funnily enough, that's exactly why this phenomenon is even more dangerous on Indian roads...

Let me explain... In the US, where you regularly experience long stretches of sedate driving at mostly the same speed in the same lane, you tend to expect boredom/sleepiness/highway hypnosis and adapt accordingly, with caffeine, music, your favorite podcast, etc.

On Indian roads where you typically tend to be hyper-alert, expecting a wayward scooter/auto/bus/cow to barge into your way at anytime, even a moderately long duration of empty road (NH44 BLR-HYD comes to mind) can lull you into a blissful zone and catch you completely off-guard!

[Kashief]

Good to know that this feel while driving is known as highway hypnosis. I have experienced it in highway drives. Compare to MT, I felt it more in AT car. Most of my long distance drives, I usually start after lunch by 3pm. Driving after sunset or rainy conditions helps to avoid this feel.