How far is it safe to drive in one day?

[MrsPete]

Of course, I slept for 11 hrs when I arrived at the hostel, so I wouldn't call it time saving.

This is an important point! A couple times we've done marathon driving sessions, and we always experience a backlash the next day: that is, we're exhausted, and we spend a good bit of the next day conked out; that, or we're like the walking dead and don't really enjoy whatever we came to see. Specifically I remember a time when our children were toddlers; we drove all night and half the day to get to get to a destination waaaay down in Florida near Everglades National Park. The kids were great: the slept soundly in their car seats, enjoyed brief stops for breakfast, etc. and then went straight back to sleep. But when we arrived, we had wide-awake kids who were ready to hit the beach . . . and parents who were exhausted and ready to hit the bed -- it wasn't a good combination in the hotel room.

This question comes up frequently, but pushing yourself waaaay beyond your limits just isn't smart or safe. You can't cheat your body and expect good results.

[gotglasses]

This thread is a bit old, but I have to get my 2 bits in.

How does it take you 20 hours if you are going 85mph?? Sounds like you need too many long stops to hide from the cops and rest. I95 is crawling with Sheriffs now and they are not about to pass up a sleepy speeder. Traffic does move fast now, but at 85 you cannot maintain speed without constant dangerous lane changing. To average 85 you have to go a 100. This will get you a Road Rage call in a couple of miles, with a cruiser waiting down the road for you.

Better to stay on cruise
control at 70 and not have to make all those rest stops. You'll get there in 18 hours, without a ticket.

We are fortunate in this country that speed enforcement is not a priority. We don't have a lot of speed cameras to slow traffic - yet. Traffic is actually moving faster here than in most of Europe now.

The cameras are all over Europe now - I received two speeding tickets from the rental car company with my smiling face at the wheel. The cameras have taken the fun out of driving in Italy which is no longer the drivers playground it once was.

Slow down a bit so that the politicians don't realize what a gold mine they are already sitting on with the existing cameras that are not yet activated for speeding tickets but do clock speed.

[majpayne]

I drive 15 hours (984 mi) on a regular basis in my compact car. It's pretty doable for me. It takes a day to recover. You can really cut down on the amount of time you spend making stops if you pack your own food and pre plan the fewest stops for gas possible and where you will stop. It's about a 14 hour drive and I spend about an hour between my stops (10-15min stops.) I did this 10 days ago and just did it again today. I'm ready for bed, but it wasn't that hard really. Just make sure you pack the night before and get plenty of sleep and hit the road as soon as you wake up and are fully rested. On any other day I get tired after about 15 hours anyway, so it works out perfect.

[AZBuck]

The OP didn't ask, and the discussion to date hasn't addressed, 'How far can I force myself, against all reason, to drive in a day?' The question was, and is 'How far is it safe to drive in one day?' Hearing from people who routinely play Russian Roulette with their own lives and the lives of everyone else they force to unknowingly share the road with them during their patently unsafe endeavors does nothing to answer that question. The fact that 'It takes a day to recover.' from your foolish and reckless endeavors should be all that you need to tell you that they are unsafe. But apparently not.

AZBuck

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum, majpayne, but there are several major safety problem with what you've done - and what it appears you plan to continue doing.

First, there is no one on earth who can safely drive nearly 1000 miles in one day. It's just more than the human body can do. Yes, on a one day sprint, you can cover a bit more miles than on a multi-day trip, but even there, there are physical limits.

Second, you claimed "it wasn't that hard," yet at the same time you said you typically are only up for 15 hours in a day, and that you were ready for bed when you were done. That proves that you were spending many hours where your level of alertness was far less than safe to operate a 2 ton machine at 70 mph. Fatigue isn't just an issue when you start to feel sleepy. If you feel sleepy behind the wheel, you've already been driving way beyond the point where you were safe.

Third, your approach of trying to stop as little as possible is about the most dangerous way you can approach any speed run - even ones of more rational distances. The mind needs breaks from the road and the body needs breaks from sitting in a car. Failing to take them - or only taking them once every 4 hours or so isn't nearly enough to keep yourself alert enough to safely operate a vehicle. It is a near certainty that you suffered from "highway hypnosis" at numerous points throughout the trip.

The reality is simple: driving fatigued is every bit as dangerous as driving drunk. The studies and statistics prove it. Coming on this forum to tell us that you regularly drive nearly 1000 miles and it's "not that bad," is really no different at all than someone who regularly drives drunk and claims it's not dangerous or "not that bad" because they haven't been arrested or gotten into a crash yet.

Perhaps you simply didn't understand your actions were as dangerous as they were. Perhaps because there is no breath test for fatigue, you'll just dismiss what we're telling you. We can only hope you'll change your behavior in the future, and let others know that if they follow your lead, they are going down an extremely dangerous path.

[majpayne]

Wellp, I'm a truck driver, and I drive 8 hours a day for work, so I guess maybe I'm used to it after doing it for years. It probably doesn't wear on my muscles as much as someone who's not accustomed to a lot of driving, thus, I don't tire from driving as easily. Of course I wouldn't drive when I'm tired or exhausted. I'm not stupid, as much as you guys seem to think I am. I always maintain my car professionally like I do at work and I always drive professionally too, which means avoiding any unnecessary risks or doing anything to jeapordize my safety or anyone else's. And yes it takes a day at least of resting before it's safe to drive again, after driving for 15 hours. It's safe( for me, maybe not for you) to do for one day but probably not two in a row, although sadly truckers are doing 15 hour days in a row all the time in this country.
I've driven literally millions of miles in my lifetime and everything from big rigs to compact cars to sport super class motorcycles and I've never had a single accident, traffic violation, or any other safety incident over my lifetime. A wise man knows some of that is because of luck (statistics dictate I should have been in an incident already) but it also probably has to do with the fact that I take driving very seriously and always place a high priority on safety and driving smart.
I'm also a licensed EMT who's had to deal with accidents which can be very gruesome I assure you. It's really insulting to think I would for a second place myself or anyone else at risk for an auto accident, but of course I didn't say that I don't get tired or mention my experience so I can't blame you guys for being presumptuous. I appreciate your concern but I do know my limits and not to push them. Stay safe

[Lifemagician]

I'm not stupid, as much as you guys seem to think I am.

The type of response you received is typical when only limited information is posted, leaving members to draw conclusions. It always pays to post as much information as you have, even if you think it may not be relevant.

Lifey

[Midwest Michael]

It's safe( for me, maybe not for you) to do for one day but probably not two in a row, although sadly truckers are doing 15 hour days in a row all the time in this country.

Actually truckers are NOT EVER driving 15 hours even in one day in this country, at least not legally, because it is not safe for ANYBODY. Commercial drivers are limited to driving a maximum of 11 hours in a day under federal law. Of course, there are a few truckers who will break the law, but the vast majority care enough about their lives, and the lives of others (not to mention they don't want to risk thousands of dollars in fines), that they don't attempt to do what has been shown time and time again to be incredibly unsafe.

As far as everything else you said about your experience and the like, all you've done is proven that you should know better, but instead, you've decided that somehow you are so special that the laws of human physiology don't apply to you. It's sad, disappointing, and dangerous, but unfortunately, it's not all that surprising. Habitual drunk drivers come up with the exact same excuses for why they can be "safe" while engaging in equally reckless behavior, especially when the consequences of their behavior haven't caught up with them, yet.

[majpayne]

It's like I said, I didn't mention any if that in my first post and it is relevant, so I do apologize. I don't blame you guys at all for responding to my post the way you did, I appreciate your concern for my safety, I think you could have just left out all the condescending attitude and editorialized talking down to, that's all. We all like to think we know it all im guilty of it too but it's better to try to temper yourself and give someone the benefit of the doubt instead of being totally cynical about life and other people. Regards

Also, really don't see how anything I've said relates or correlates whatsoever to drunk driving, something I've never done or intend to do. Literally no connection whatsoever. If you can prove that im even tired when I drive based on anything I've said, which you can't, you still have to jump an enormous gap from tired driving to drunk diving. Gonna regard this as base inflammatory comment.
Have you ever seen the consequences of drunk driving? Have you ever pulled a little kid out of the back of a car who's been almost cut in half by his seat belt? Why would you say to someone who has that they're no better than a drunk driver and they just go around with utter disregard for their own safety and everyone else's? Only reason I can think of to say something that foolish, is to piss someone off and flame them up and fill your life and everyone else's life with drama they don't need purely for your own entertainment. The Internet is completely overpacked with people like you, and I only posted here to offer my opinion and experience but I see like many other places on the Internet this website is just another place for someone to sit back make popcorn and analyze everything you say and criticize and belittle it and contribute nothing just to pass the time until we all die feeling much worse for having wasted our precious time alive talking to one another. Its the sort of thing I did when I was a kid, but eventually we have to grow up don't we? Doesnt all this internet bickering just get you down? Isn't there something more important to worry about, like learning something, or isn't it better to focus your energy having a better attitude, or being a better driver, or raising a family or furthering your career, maybe learn a new instrument or make love? I mean really, how empty is your life man? Never posting here again and it's solely because of you. Sorry but you won't get another juicy dramatic argument filled moment just because I bumped Into the wrong part of the Internet.

[Midwest Michael]

The fact is you came on this forum and proclaimed it's "pretty doable" to drive nearly 1,000 miles in a day, and that you do it on a regular basis. Even worse, you take the approach of trying to do it with as few as stops as possible. It doesn't matter how much experience you have, that is extraordinarily dangerous.

We certainly can't force you to change your behavior, or force you to understand that no amount of experience will make what you are doing "safe." But we're certainly not going to allow anyone to come on this forum and provide such dangerous mis-information without it being corrected.

As Buck noted in his response, the original question from several years ago is "how far is it safe to drive in one day?" While you may not gain anything from our answers, we hope that they will explain to other visitors to this forum exactly why the distances you are driving are not at all safe to drive in one day.