AIBU to ask how long is safe to drive on a motorway without a break?

[Blues321]

How long would you feel is a safe time to drive on a motorway without a break?

I appreciate it's different person-to-person but on average, what is a safe time limit.

Sparked by a discussion on a long motorway journey!

Generally about 2 to 2. 5 hours.

I can do up to 3 hrs before I get so bored i start zoning out andI need to pull over, re-focus and snap myself out of it. It does somewhat depend on the motorway and driving conditions of course, some present more of a challenge, some really are just big long straight roads moving at a consistent speed with no real interest.

I have driven all the way through France with only 1 toilet/quick stretch of the legs break. ExH drove across Italy, then we swopped at Mont Blanc. Was great.

My dad used to drive us overnight to the Costa Brava from England (evening ferry, then hit the road). We were kids, we would just sleep in the car. 12 hours roughly, I think.

I usually drive to Cornwall in 1 go. I fill with petrol the night before. I don't really like stopping, once I'm in the car, I just want to get going. Always have a coffee that I make at home for the start of the drive.

If I get tired, opening the window and blasting on the air helps. I would absolutely stop if I was feeling very tired but I don't really ever set out on a long drive without a good night's sleep.

About 3 hours for me. Not for safety; I just start to stiffen up in my lower back and feel the need to wiggle my accelerator foot a bit.

It depends entirely on the person, time of day, and how they're feeling.

I can easily do 5 hours without a break sometimes, but other times I need to stop after an hour because I can feel my attention drifting.

DP can't do more than 2 hours without at least a half hour break, she says she starts feeling over stimulated.

After a stupidly long drive home from France one year (500 miles in one long slog with breaks) I promised myself never again. I regularly drive 3.5 hours with a quick stop half way, but am planning a road trip to Cornwall next year and will be sharing the driving AND insisting on breaks every couple of hours.

It's daily driving that worries me - folk who get in the car tired, or when the conditions are poor, or with a couple of screaming kids in the car...

Either you’ve got a very strong bladder, or very good pee pants!

Haha, nah, I just don't drink anything for a while before any long drives!

Don't worry, I'm not quite as strict if there's anyone else in the car, I'm not one of those "We will not be stopping for anything!" people

I do the trip from Hampshire to Scotland without stopping - 7.5 hours. I just eat sweets along the way. It’s all easy motorway driving or straight roads though.
DS does the same but he grew up with my “straight through” driving.

DH does the same trip and needs to stop once for food and a wee.

I can do about 4-5 without needing a break on motorways easily.

Our current car is automatic, has adaptive cruise control and a comfy seat. First time DH drove it down to visit his parents (about 5 hours) he managed without stopping. It used to be a solid 2 stop drive in our old cars, one at a push. He just said he didn’t feel fatigued or in need of a stretch.

I regularly drive 250 miles to visit family (which takes from 4 hours to 12 hours, but on average 6-7 hours). How often I stop depends very much on driving conditions. On average I stop once but if the traffic is horrendous, or I’m not feeling 100%, I may stop more frequently. At other times if the traffic is flowing and I’m fully rested, I may not stop at all.

East London to North Leeds via M11 in one hit - provided I’ve consumed no tea for 12 hours beforehand

The thing is, the research suggests that driving competence typically starts to decline after around 2 hours of driving. And the research also suggests that people aren't generally very good at assessing the impact of their tiredness on their ability to drive safely. So even if someone feels fine driving for 5 hours without a break, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's safe to do that. Even if they have done it umpteen times previously and not had any problems.

Two hours as a norm, there will always be exceptions. Not just the ones that middle lane hoggers should not be on any motorway, indeed should be banned from driving for good.

Surely it’s unsafe to drive for longer than two hours without a break-tiredness, hunger, same position,boredom, concentration diminishes etc. In the event of an accident, having driven for five hours would not go down well with the insurance companies.

So.many.variables

What roads, which car, how rested I am, what the purpose of the trip is and how much I want to arrive.

Who else is on board etc.

The important thing is for the driver to monitor themselves and take a break whenever necessary.

Depends on so many variables. With the kids maybe 3-4hrs max before we have to stop, just adults we’ve done 5.5-6hrs before.

It depends on driver, car, traffic, and weather and then how tired you are etc.

We used to do a regular long drive down to South of France and we worked on 2.5 hours then stop stretch, change drivers, sometimes add in a coffee.
But that is so that you can do a 12 hour drive, and pace yourself.

We also did a regular drive which was 3.5 hours to Dover, then ferry, then 4 hours, and we rarely stopped for that 4 hours, having just had a coffee and break on the ferry.

We drive without feeling that either of us have to stop from West Yorkshire to the Southeast coast, so 4-5 hours at a stretch. I think if it were longer than that, we'd definitely (as either the driver or passenger) need to take a break.

There’s no way the concentration doesn’t suffer after a couple of hours!

My limit is 2-2.5 hours, then I ideally need a loo/leg stretch as I'm getting stiff/little break. 3 hours I'd doable but pushing it