Stress-free driving

How long does it take you to get from A to B? If you are like most people, you will know typical journey times for regular trips that you make.

Phrases like “I made great time”, or “it only took me…to get to here today” are typical comments we hear every day.

We tend to judge the quality of a trip by how short it is. In fact, we are creating our own time expectations and this puts us under pressure when we can’t meet them. To make matters worse, these are often self imposed.

Over the next week, actually time the same journey twice. On the first occasion, drive as normal, trying not to go faster or slower than usual. The next time you undertake the same trip, consciously drive in a more relaxed and less hurried manner.

If you compare the two journey times you will often find that, if your trip was a relatively short one, the difference can be measured in - at most - minutes. If the journey was two, three or even four hours, the difference is likely to be no greater than twenty to thirty minutes.

Ask yourself how you feel after completing each trip. Is there any difference? What is your stress level like? What have you done with all those precious minutes you saved?

The chances are that you will feel more relaxed and refreshed after the second trip. This is more likely to be that case if you accept that there are many things outside your control - the weather, traffic delays due to accidents, road works or simply traffic volumes.

Fewer overtakes, less chance of mistakenly going too fast through a speed camera - a more relaxed journey all round.

If things do go wrong, it is useful to focus on what you can do, rather than on what you can’t. If you have a mobile phone, you can ring ahead to explain that you are delayed so that alternative plans can be made.

In this situation the mobile phone can be really useful: once that call has been made, you will drive in a more composed way.

The pressure is off if you have rung ahead to say you have been delayed by a few minutes. Needless to say, that call must only be made when you have pulled over somewhere convenient and legal - or at least from a hands-free unit.

Driving tip provided by IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists)

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