For those that drive...

[WaLLy]

I've been meaning to get this thread for a while, but I tend to forget about it..

Anywho, is it just me, or does anyone else, while you're driving your mind just drifts off? And after a certain period of time, you wonder how the heck you got here without even thinking about it, yet you didn't get into a car accident...

That happens to me A LOT! More than anything, going home after work. I'll be driving on the freeway, next thing you know, I'm jumping on the next freeway and that's when I wonder about how the heck did I just get here....

 

[malasins]

Happened to me the first few months i had gotten my license

 

[PaigeBoo]

It happens mostly when you're doing a commute, it becomes something your mind and body get use to. You're mind can drift because it knows where it's going and how to get there.

Ever notice how much more concentration it takes to get somewhere new? Even when you have GPS?

 

[Kreubs]

Yes! and usually on the way to work. I always drove the same way, same lane changes and all. I think I went 2-3 miles once with 0 recollection of where I had been.

 

[AVC]

I tend to frequent certain routes. So much so that we will be travelling somewhere new and my wife will say "where are you going?".

Autopilot... I'll think I was driving to work or something.

 

[Joe Momma]

I've only been driving for a few days but I know what you mean. My dad actually yelled at me to make a turn because I wasn't really paying attention lol. Almost missed my own house

 

[PwnSauce]

Sometimes on longer trips I can't remember the last few miles.

Think that's normal with anything that's boring though.

It's weird being human.

 

[HIBred]

Yeh,the last few minutes are always memorable,but the long drawn out.....wait we're talking about driving?

 

[felon]

Yeh,the last few minutes are always memorable,but the long drawn out.....wait we're talking about driving?

 

[tombraider]

i cant say it has happened to me, but my cousin can drift or as he calls it falls asleep and end up like 25 miles in the wrong direction on another freeway. its kinda funny ahhahah

 

[Take]

I just get distracted and start looking around but I never damaged a car before..

 

[PaigeBoo]

Okay, we talked about this in Neurological Biology last night.

It's actually called Road Hypnosis. It happens because we aren't receiving new important information. Our brains begin to develop a procedural memory for the drive. This allows you to be thinking about other things while your mind subconsciously drives for you. Now you would think this is dangerous, but in the event that there is danger, such as someone cutting you off, this new important information is sent hurtling into your frontal lobes. This activates the amygdala and the reticular activating system as well which produce adrenaline so you can react quickly.

This is normal and what the brain SHOULD do

 

[Ethan]

The human brain.

A truly amazing thing!

 

[CiTyCHiLD]

Yeah same here. I still manage to get home okay though.

It used to happen to me when I used to smoke weed in high school, and I walking home too. One time, I was walking from my friends house a few miles away then poof I was on my street, and I couldn't remember what happened in between.