How are you with driving on the motorway?

[bumchic]

There are a few journeys locally which are sometimes much quicker if I go in the motorway for a couple of junctions but it’s so unpredictable I always try and avoid it.

BUT I do all the driving on long family journeys including abroad and am fine with it.

My mum on the other hand outright refuses to drive on the motorway and always has. The idea of her driving on a long trip eg when we were kids was absolutely out of the question. I have friends like this now too - they see long journeys as a man’s job.

DH drives to work every day. He has diagnosed ADHD (I think as a result), his concentration is lousy and I hate being his passenger driving any distance. I drive everywhere if we're both in the car. The only driving I don't particularly like is in a city I don't know, although I will when necessary.

DD is at a university four hours away. I visit or pick her up fairly regularly on my own. DD can drive (she's in a major city centre campus and chose not to have a car there).
DD shares the motorway driving when I collect her so she keeps up her driving skills and gains more experience. She is one of the eldest in her year (October birthday) and passed before she was eighteen. She had around a year driving before leaving home. She's excellent.
I have two older DSs who need to drive as part of their jobs. I'm happy for them to also drive as my health isn't great. I don't think about motorway driving any differently to other roads, preferring it in the dark. The only driver I avoid in our family is DH.

I tolerate driving, I neither enjoy nor dislike it.

If in the car with DH he tends to drive as he enjoys driving.

I'm fine on motorways though dislike the M25 as there are too many lanes, lorries, and exits and entrances. If I had to do it regularly no doubt I'd cope.

It took me a long time to drive on a motorway. My ex used to do the driving, and he was a bit of a back seat driver, so now I hate driving with other people in the car bar my family. Oftentimes we didn't even have a car, couldn't afford it. He had a work van I wasn't insured on so he drove. When we split I obviously then had to drive and found motorway driving was fine, if incredibly boring! I don't mind it now, but my DP usually drives on long journeys (he has a bigger car I'm not insured on, though we'll sometimes take mine for shorter trips and share driving.
I prefer to sleep on long journeys, but that's frowned upon when you're driving.

I'm a pretty confident driver so no roads are out of the question, though I don't really like driving on unfamiliar roads at night - I wouldn't refuse to though.

I do however know quite a few people who refuse. My MIL will not do any driving at all outside of to and from her work. She makes her DH do every other journey. I have to admit I find it a bit pathetic and on her part I think it's lazyness, not fear.

I'm a fairly confident driver and have no problem with motorway driving.

The only thing I don't love is driving abroad on the other side of the road. I prefer not to do that but will if necessary.

You realise that OP was not saying this was HER view, right? She was talking about the views of other women in her life. There was no need to be so rude.

Never driven on a motorway. Never will do!

The 'man's job' thing is cringy, but my mum never learnt to drive so I sort of understand it for a much older generation. I'm in my 60s though, and learnt to drive at 17 which was the norm in my day.

I have lost a bit of confidence driving on motorways. I know theoretically they are safe roads but my subconscious won't have it! I used to drive thousands of miles for my job on all sorts of roads, but after having children in my 30s suddenly I got a bit fearful on motorways. So I know it's not logical and it's 'in my own head' but I do have a problem. I still drive on motorways, but rarely as I don't have to travel very far very often. The less I drive on them, the worse I get. It's frustrating.

Why don't people like motorway driving? And do feel the same about multi lane dual carriageways?

Up until the last year or so I've done the vast majority of motorway driving for long trips. DP drives all day for work (travelling between local shops), so I'll drive when we go away so she gets a break from it.

This worked well up until last year when we had to drive back from a wedding and I had a spectacular hangover so DP drove. And we found out that she's pretty much lost all confidence at driving on unfamiliar motorways. So now she insists on doing half the driving so that she doesn't become one of those people who's too scared to drive on the motorway.

Personally I don't see the issue with motorway driving, it's easier than on normal roads to be honest.

I am in my 50's and I drive all over the place, I started driving on Motorways almost as soon as I passd my test. Me and DH take it in turns but as I drive a lot of work he tends to do it at weekends
My Mum drove but my Dad tended to do the longer journeys and so did my Sdad after she divorced my Dad. She certainly COULD drive on motorways but only did if my Dad wasn't with us
My Gran could drive but rarely did and then only locally
Maybe its genrational?

I'm fine with motorways, no anxiety etc. In fact I did a motorway drive the afternoon of the day I passed my driving test in the morning.

BUT, I really hate the Manchester motorways (M60,M61,M62) as it's like Whacky Races so do my utmost to avoid that area usually going cross country via Brough or Skipton instead even though it's slower, it's less risky in terms of risk of having an accident or being caught up in hours of congestion stuck in traffic after an accident.

Other than that, happy to travel for hours on motorways and often do.

I've been driving for 40 years and have always loved it. I drove myself to and from uni in Plymouth from London from the age of 18 and haven't really stopped since. I do most of the driving in our family as I am an appalling passenger.
I loved doing all the uni visits with my DCs - drove all over the place on motorways. I usually drop them off or collect them on my own as DH is working.

My only dislike is that as we live in S London, every longer journey will start and finish with the M25. That is a motorway like no other....

My Mum didn't learn to drive until she was nearly 50 and only stopped driving on motorways when she got to her 70s. She's still driving capably on local trips at 88.

I love driving on any roads. DH and I light heartedly argue whose turn it is to drive. But I used to do over 20,000 miles every year and have driven a lot in the USA as well for months on my own. I am in my 50s and find people who think things like are are divided into mans and women’s work bloody annoying.

I live rurally so rarely have to drive on a motorway. I don't mind it. I do get fed up with having to constantly over take lorries in the middle lane. It's a bit of a chore.

I much prefer driving down the country roads. Until I meet a 4x4 driver from London who has never been off road and thinks they shouldn't have to pull into the hedge...

I use motorways but know lots of women who avoid them at all costs

Have to drive on the motorway - to get to my work requires motorway driving. Yes you have idiot drivers but sure that's not limited to the motorway. Himself does the majority of the driving when we go somewhere, thats more to do with the fact i have a health condition and tire easily, plus doesn't drink so always designated driver if we go places - I do offer to drive to share but he always says no :)
Driving on the motorway should be part of your driving test - here in Ireland its not , not sure if it is in the UK

Motorways are much easier to drive on, not as many hazards as on A roads.

I'm late 50s and happy to drive anywhere but I do have friends of a similar age who are starting to get stressed with motorways and unfamiliar routes ... I think it's important we force ourselves to do this as we get older or we lose confidence.

I agree, especially the "man's versus woman's" work. I do more driving than my DH and always have. I did most of the driving during a couple of holidays, one driving around Canada and the other driving around California, several thousand miles each time. Absolutely loved it. In our first few years together, I was the one with the job with an hour's commute each way whilst he worked in the same town so could walk/cycle to work - in those years, I racked up 20-30k miles per year. It's not to say DH won't drive or doesn't like driving - he'll always do his fair share, always has had his own car, etc., but he just knows I like driving more than he does so isn't remotely bothered when I grab the car keys.

I find it very strange if someone is scared of driving on the motorway and I wonder if they should be driving at all if they're not confident behind the wheel. I enjoy driving on motorways and if I avoid them for a long trip it's only because I find them boring and there's a more interesting route. DH doesn't drive so I do all of it.

Nail on the head. Not just "use it or lose it", but also keeping up to date with everything that changes. Far better to keep up rather than getting left behind and struggling. Harder to claw back once you've got behind than it is to keep riding the crest of the wave of change.

Happy driving the car but will go another way if I’m towing the horse box.

I love to drive! Good job because much of my working life is spent travelling all over the country visiting the schools in my MAT!

The only roads I struggle with sometimes are very narrow lanes with high hedges. I always say to DH that if there’s no white line down the middle I’d like him to drive 🤣

Motorways are lovely to drive on IMO.

Women are a bit more neurotic than men and are a bit more panicky.
What?
Speak for yourself.