Tips to make driving for work meetings less stressful

[PainPerdu]

As part of my job I have to attend all day in person meetings roughly once a month. These meetings are usually in one of two cities, one of which is a 2.5hr drive from home and the other is just over 3hrs.

I find it really tiring to do a 2.5-3hr drive, sit in a 6hr meeting then do a 2.5-3hr drive home. By the drive home I find I'm struggling to concentrate on the road, and this isn't very safe. If meetings are in the further city I will often catch the train instead, even though that takes 4hrs, as I find it less tiring and safer. But the closer city isn't really accessible by train (it would take around 5hrs and I wouldn't get there in time for the meeting start).

If you do similar journeys for work, how do you make it less stressful? I find the 6hr meetings quite tiring, without the additional 5hrs of driving. There is only so much that can be fixed by caffeine...

I do claim mileage and I do clock the travelling hours (we have flexi working).

I'd have to drive 1.5hrs to get to a station with a direct train. So it would still be 3hrs of driving, plus the office is nowhere near the train station when I got to the city.

so what are trying to achieve by this thread op? genuine question

there’s one solution to your scenario. hotel.

that’s it.

Why post a thread and ask for advice and then argue against every bit of advice you're given?

Move closer to the city your office is in. Problem solved.

The actual mileage isn't that high, the 3hr journey is around 110 miles. The main problem is I live in a rural area so most of that is on winding A or sometimes B roads, driving through villages with speed limits, which makes it a lot slower. If it was 100 miles on a motorway it wouldn't be anywhere near as tiring.

I'm not arguing, I'm responding.

My office is 6 miles from my house, but thanks.

@PainPerdu you're arguing with every single response. Get a hotel. Split the drive. Get a train.

I was hoping for tips from others who do similar drives for work, which I have received.

I'm not hugely keen on regularly paying for a hotel out of my own pocket for work meetings, or travelling on a Sunday for a Monday meeting. So I would like to find an alternative to a hotel the night before.

Is it better to post a question and not respond to the replies? I see plenty of people slated for doing that on here, which is what I was trying to avoid by responding.

Safety issue IMO.

Have you ever had a near miss, you say you find the journey home hard to focus on the road? I imagine you have, and you’re putting yourself and others at risk. You should surely report any near misses at least under your health and safety system, to reduce the risk an over night stay one side, or public transport. Your employer clearly needs to be made aware in any case. Have you raised it?

Driving should be risk assessed. Do they really have no driving for work controls? Have you asked?

I'm sorry if it comes across as arguing, that's not my intention. I'm just trying to respond, as explained above.

No they're not. They haven't argued with mine.

Besides which, just because someone asks a question on Mumsnet that doesn't mean they have to unquestioningly accept or follow the advice given!

They're perfectly free to question, ignore or reject suggestions - if you don't like that, then don't post advice.

what “tips” could you possibly imagine in this scenario that hadn’t already occurred to you! i mean serioisly op. You’re talking about being tired on a long journey.

So is there any travel safety policy? If you are claiming £100 of mileage plus six hours flexitime every trip it seems to me that would cover a basic hotel.

they didn’t even acknowledge yours

Have you spoken to your manager and asked if a hotel could be paid for by the company sometimes?

I refuse to fly down to London and back in a day now because in my 50s it's too much getting up at 4am and not back until 9pm, but we are a private company so it's probably different.

If I am feeling tired before a drive home, I go for a half hour nap in the back seat.
Alternatively book a per hour room for an hour if you can't do back seat

I covered the whole of England for my last job (from Wales). Think the longest journey was Norwich which took around 6-6.5 hours each way. I would travel down the night before, run an all day training session or meeting and then drive back that night. I love driving, especially at night but am always prepared to pull over for a nap if necessary.

I don’t drink caffeine so fruit tea and singing were my main tactics to stave off fatigue.

Assuming you don’t want any of the sensible advice above here are the alternative “tips”. Drink a Monster energy drink, play the radio full blast and keep the window open. HTH.

Naps and breaks - stop, drink caffeine, 20-30 mins nap in back seat. Caffeine will kick in towards the end of the nap. Take a proper break for breakfast/dinner en route

Avoid heavy traffic and rush hour if you can eg delay return journey, use park and ride. Lighter traffic is less tiring.

Get a car with lots of driving aids - adaptive cruise control, lane detection etc… I found that helped on long journeys

Audiobooks and podcasts , or whatever helps you relax

Split journey either with hotel or part train - I think work may cover hotel night before or after given travel time and distance, but check expenses policy. If not, and money is tight, a you might find a Travelodge an hour away is cheaper. The ones at service stations tend to be really cheap.

Get a car with lots of driving aids - adaptive cruise control, lane detection etc… I found that helped on long journeys

completely disagree. You need to engage with the driving to stay awake. I turn off every driving aid. I won’t drive anything that feels like driving an armchair.

I have a 4 hr commute 2 days a week, recently had to take our bigger car as my usual ride was in the garage. Comfy heated seats, automatic gears, more power...bliss.

So....New car time?