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-   -   Sleeping / power-napping in a car as a passenger - Your view? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/187178-sleeping-power-napping-car-passenger-your-view.html)

Many folks prefer chauffeur-driven cars or cabs because it allows them to catch up on forty winks. Lucky folks, these, because they can manage to get a lot more work done in their lives because of their ability to catch up on their sleep during a commute.

Unfortunately for me, I just cannot doze off in a car driven by another person - I feel very vulnerable, even with my seat belt on in the rear seat, and tend to panic a bit if the car is not being driven exactly how I want it to be driven. It has been many years since I found a really good (read: safe) driver, in whose car I can fall asleep.

If you are not driving, can you fall asleep in a moving car?

Related thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...u-driving.html

On the other hand, I feel very sleepy when I'm not behind the wheels!
I've driven for hours without a break without getting tired. But won't last for half an hour awake if I'm idle and when someone else is driving.
I guess different strokes for different folks!

I do not sleep if I am in a cab since they are for short city commutes, but on a long distance trip, if it is a friend driving his/her car, and the road is known to me, I sleep at times for, say, 30 mins or so. I have friends who do not mind this at all (neither do I) and am at peace.

Nice Thread SS Da. There was a time when I never used to sleep when some other person was driving. But now I do not have a problem. This has majorly happened due to the increase in travel that my job demands. On any given month, I have to travel at least 200 kms a day for 10 straight days. After working the whole day, one tends to sleep in the car. But before, doing that, I usually make sure the driver meets my standards. If I feel, the driver is not too great, I tend to correct him in the first few days & then sleep. :D

Regards,

Pawan

Until we came to India I always drovemyself. So it was never an issue. My driver was excellent and I would happily doze off now and then. If anybody needs a good driver let me know as I happen to know he is looking for a job.

Jeroen

While in college in Bombay I used to take rickshaws and just doze off. I'd tell them exactly where to drop me because I knew I was going to doze off. The entire 40 or so minute commute would be my nap, and in those days, boy did I need those two naps :P

If I'm okay with the way the car is being driven, I can, though honestly, it is difficult sometimes. I know a few people who's driving I don't trust and I've fought my sleep to stay awake, specially when in the front seat.

Hey, can't PM you, some restriction. I am looking for a reliable and quality driver. Thanks.

I rarely sleep in a car even if I'm in the passenger seat. Usually I will be chatting with the driver or listening to the radio. But if I'm in a bus, where I can do neither of these, I will :ZZZ:

Never!

Most of my time as a passenger in cars driven by friends/acquaintances is during early mornings or late at nights. I can never catch a wink at these times mainly because I usually sit in the co-driver's seat (OCD with seatbelt) and assume the role of the spotter, navigator, DJ and what not stupid:.

Also, the glare of lights from oncoming vehicles makes it impossible to close my eyes and sleep blissfully. Plus, I am very fresh and lively in the mornings and impulsive and restless at night-making it impossible for me to sleep.

Once I enter a stranger's vehicle (cab, taxi, bus), I trust the instincts, driving ability and confidence of the driver. I refrain from giving him inputs and ergo headaches. What I don't trust is their immunity to sleep and hence try to, if necessary, keep them alert.

I try my best not to sleep in the car unless we are covering long distances (500+) in a day and I have a trusted friend sharing the driving duty. Let me share some experiences I had recently.

Last week, I traveled to Delhi for office work and took an early morning flight. I called an Uber at 3:30AM to take me to the airport. A few kms into the trip, I saw him in the IRVM and observed tired/drowsy eyes. I started talking to him on every random topic and kept him busy through the remaining 40km trip.
My return flight was on Sunday afternoon and I hailed an Uber at 12:30PM. Guess what, the driver was almost dozing off on the way to airport and drifting across lanes!! Again had to talk to him continuously to keep him awake.

I have had few more such experiences and hence, like to stay awake as much as possible. First of all, I get to keep an eye on the driver or help him/her out wherever required. Secondly, sleep is contagious. My sleeping shouldn't make the driver drowsy (my father has taught me this since childhood).

I know I cannot judge how good a person drives his/her car. But over the years I wonder why am I not able to handover the steering for others to drive. Thought I was narrow minded or so but glad there are others in the boat. Be it a long drive or even within the city I drive my car myself.

Ah! There was one instance where I was driving to Pondy immediately after work along with family. I was forced out of the driver's seat by a relative who could drive so that I could rest. In about 10-15mins he gave back the car to me and said, "No point in me driving the car. You are wide awake and look restless. Take back your car now. At least I can sleep.":D:D

That being said when I feel exhausted I just pull over and take some refreshment. If my co-passenger feels sleepy they ask me to pull over, they take the back seat and another person comes to the front who had been relaxing thus far. And since my family knows that I do not get off the driver's seat, they ensure that I get good rest before we start out journey. So far so good!

Very true. Its natural too like yawning. Unless the other person is really vigilant and knows the responsibility he/she is carrying on the shoulders, better not to sleep but rather keep them engaged in some lively chat.

Your experience with cab driver is ditto mine too. But I just couldn't muster my heart to give a sound warning to the driver since he was pretty senior and he confessed that he needed extra money for his household expense and daughter's marriage.

Since that day, no matter how awake cab drivers are I just keep talking with them like a small kid just to keep them engaged and lively until my destination.

Kills boredom too.

When it comes to travelling through rush hour traffic, I can't help but play some music and fall asleep. If the roads are relatively empty and average speeds increase, I can only sleep if the journey is going to be a long one and I feel like the driver is skilled enough. I prefer to drive myself when travelling between nearby cities (bangalore to hyd is just a 5 hour drive) but if for some reason car is not at my disposal then I'd rather fly or postpone the trip because I simply can't sleep in the rashly driven buses. The suspension does wonders to prevent you from knowing whats going on, but peep out through the curtains and you simply won't be able to sleep knowing how rashly it is being driven.

Even I have been polite to all the drivers and never reprimanded them ever. With the cab operators withdrawing the incentives, these drivers are under huge pressure. If I see them drowsy or sleepy, I pretend as if I didn't notice that but start talking to them on random topics, mostly related to cars.lol:

If I am going in any personal vehicle, it is mostly me who is driving. On rare occasions I hand over the car to my co-driver if he insists and I trust him completely.

Ha ha, nice thread. That love for driving makes me drive always. To the extent that I am happy when none in the passengers know driving... it's a strange feeling to handover the car to someone else.

But when I am in a situation when someone else is driving, specially cabs, I am like the most inquisitive kid in the block talking of everything on earth to make sure the driver is attentive. To an extent that I often run out of topics on those long bangalore airport runs

I do have a situation where I don't trust another persons driving. Hence I rarely give away the driving seat / or hire taxis for long commute.

I realize this is a problem and I know I suffer from control bias. I am making an effort to get over it.

Apart from not trusting another person's driving skills, the other thing I can't keep my mind off is how people change gear. I find most people to abuse the clutch or change gears at the wrong time or the wrong way. It is something that just inherently troubles, no matter which car I am sitting in.