Drove solo for 12.5 hours & 700 kms: Did 4 things to stay fatigue free

Wherever possible, I let the other driver have his way. There were no tense moments where I cursed or cut somebody off.

BHPian locusjag recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

We did a 700 km, 12.5 hour trip in daylight recently. I was at the wheel and my dad, kid and wife were in the car with me. Everyone else in the car except me had some trepidation at the prospect of having a solo driver complete this trip.

But we made it through with a relatively okay-ish level of freshness; for sure, being seated for that long in an air conditioned and constantly moving vehicle did sap our hydration and energy levels. But we were in good shape when we made it home.

As for me, this was proof that I felt I needed to furnish to myself, to burnish my credentials to myself in a way - to say that I can handle this sort of a long sojourn and to say that I have a method that works to handle such marathon trips.]

Here are some observations from me on what probably worked for us:

• No hard lane changes - None of us in the car felt significant lateral G forces at any point in time.
• No hard acceleration/braking - None of us in the car were subject to undue inertial forward/backward forces.
• Staying at the back of the pack - In order to facilitate #1 & #2 above, I maintained my speed at 80 Kmph (with a margin of +/- 5 kmph) and ensured that I never participated in the frenzied overtakings of slow trucks that cars usually partake of. Thus, by being the slowest of car packs (analogous to wolf-packs) in the highway, none of us in the car had to undergo edge-of-the-seat nervous moments. Our minds and bodies were relaxed throughout the trip since there were no anxiety-inducing moments at all, period.
• Being an angel - Wherever possible, I let the other driver have his way. There were no tense moments where I cursed or cut somebody off. And as usual, zero honks were given off by our car. Being a beatific driver and avoiding negative emotions helped greatly. Again, this kept our moods elated throughout.

Aside from these driving practices, one other thing that worked for me was this cushion from Amazon. It kept giving me a comfortable feeling in the driver's seat!I really like the under-thigh support that I get from it.

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