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.

Never thought about it. I was taught to drive so I drive everywhere, here and abroad. The motorway is just another road and in some ways easier than some town roads

I love the M25! A pain when it gets snarled up but otherwise a fantastic piece of infrastructure.

I love all driving, and love motorways.

I used to work with a woman who was too scared to use motorways.

Love motorway driving. Don’t like being stuck on it. Use it frequently to get to the other side of my town as that’s always gridlocked.

Absolutely love motorways (not the m25) - so logical. Love driving

Motorways fine. Long distance fine.

Roundabouts fine, even the tricky ones my colleagues were nervous of.

However, right turns at T-junctions on busy fast roads….. how can I look both ways at once?? If I can take a slightly different route to avoid, I will.

Also cyclists on busy single carriageway roads bring me out in a cold sweat.

Especially places with gyratory systems where you're in the right lane one second then have to move over the next. And need to be really vigilant as to what's happening and where you need to go.

Motorways you get plenty of notice.

Don’t drive on motorways often as the nearest junction is 1hr 30 away. But when I do drive up north I enjoy it. I’ve always loved motorways because we didn’t go on them often it was exciting as it meant we were going on holiday. And that feeling still lingers because it’s usually for the same reason

im happy to drive on them. However my Dh is a terrible passenger and gets travel sickness so he always drives on long journeys. He’s ok on a short trip but would always rather drive. Not sexist in our house it’s just practical

Motorway driving is easy but long distances can get monotonous and boring.

No problem with motorways as such but right now (and for some time now) the M8 has been so utterly dire it drains my soul

Absolutely. I don't even like motorways as a passenger! the speeds are terrifying and drivers around you have to make split-second decisions at 70 mph, and many drivers are not that bright and some are foolhardy.

(yes yes I know on MN everyone loves motorway driving.)

I drove over Hardnott and Wrynose Pass in the dark years ago. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I’d asked directions in a petrol station to the little town where we were going to stay overnight. The guy in the petrol station said your quickest route would be over the H&W Pass but I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s mainly locals who are familiar with it who use that route .

I foolishly rose to the challenge and off I went. It was the only time I ever feared for my life while driving. I was so relieved to get back down to ground level. Just reading your mention of it gave me the chills 😱

Last year I started driving on the motorway if the opportunity presented itself. I’ve been driving for 18 years but I don’t drive every day. Can’t say I like it because I don’t like going that fast. I don’t think it’s anything to do with being pathetic or because I’m a woman (although I don’t really owe anyone an explanation but here we are!). Sometimes people are just different in their attitude to/confidence with stuff. If people don’t get it then that really is their problem I think.

Armley Gyratory?

I hate it. It's probably an age thing. I was fearless when younger and thought nothing of driving to Scotland, or Cornwall but now I get quite anxious at the thought of going on a motorway.

I don't drive on motorways , the thought makes me panic.

I do appreciate that some people find this completely mad. But there's something about the idea of trying to gain speed on a slip road and safely merging at 60-70mph that I just can't deal with. It is quite irrational at this point as I am a lot more confident than I used to be within my comfort zone, which has expanded. I would probably be fine.

I think it also depends on where you live to some extent. Where we live it is always very busy as we are near a major city, some sections are trickier to navigate. Might be an easier prospect of you regularly build experience in easier parts of the country.

If I need to drive somewhere I just do it. I enjoy driving and used to regularly commute 130 miles a day pretty much solely on the motorway.

For those talking about the speed of other drivers, if you haven’t done it in a while I’d say on the whole people drive slower now because of all the speed cameras! I find you rarely get the dickheads thundering past at 90 anymore. So you might be pleasantly surprised!

Round here is so many dual carriageways, roundabouts etc that the motorway seems easy in comparison.

Like others I’d urge those who rely on someone else to do the driving to try and push themselves now to do it a bit more. The number of older women I know who ‘can’t drive there, I don’t know the way/can’t use the sat nav/can’t drive on the motorway’ and are now a bit isolated is actually a bit sad

For those talking about the speed of other drivers, if you haven’t done it in a while I’d say on the whole people drive slower now because of all the speed cameras!

I totally agree. I remember the days when loads of people used to whizz past when we would be would driving at about 75 mph, but I rarely see that these days. I also don't drive at 75 any more.

I don’t drive on motorways. And never have really. It’s basically a phobia now. I have tried to overcome it (taken extra lessons, ended up on the M25 kind of by accident once). But I’m so frightened that my legs shake quite uncontrollably and that in itself feels incredibly unsafe when I’m driving. I hate not being able to do it. It’s nothing to do with being female whatsoever. I‘m a single parent and do pretty much everything and I’m so annoyed that I can’t seem to overcome this.

Oh, and it’s the merging bit I can’t do. I think if I could get over that, I might be ok.

It literally doesn’t occupy a moment of my thoughts: I drive all over the country on the motorway. It’s totally fine and in many ways easier than driving on any other road.

As I've never driven on one, I don't know how merging should work.
My XH used to say that the cars in the inside lane should move out to allow cars to join but my dad said that cars joining had to wait until there was a gap.

I had a long break from driving until 2020 (about 15 yrs - and no, I didn’t expect lifts, I live somewhere very public transport heavy). Previously I preferred country roads and would have chosen cross country routes where possible but the roads are generally in such disrepair that these days I much prefer the motorways and big A roads because they are so much better maintained. I like the smart motorways too even though they add time to the journey when there are speed restrictions.

I also know women who think driving long distance is a man’s job! Madness.

The only motorway I don’t like is the M4 - it’s so damn boring!

I actually prefer driving on the motorway. It's a nice straight road and I can stop for a coffee or loo break if I need it. I'm not keen on twisty little country roads.

I would drive you the length of the country before I chose to go round Armley Gyratory, haha. I'm a very confident driver who does thousands of miles round the country for work but something about this specific bit of road stresses me out no end. It used to be part of my commute and I hated it every day 😂