Mental note to burn: the goal is to arrive and arrive well
It's good, huh. In your head, the idea of the road ahead and you at the wheel is luxurious, very Valencia filter. However, you have a strange nerve, more from fear than from emotion before your first trip by car after the end of the state of alarm. normal, they have been almost six months without driving and, less, on such a long journey. Putting yourself at the controls again, imposes.
Spring weekends usually register “a traffic increase on the main itineraries, national roads, highways and highways towards the coastal and coastal areas, second homes as well as leisure and recreation areas near urban centers”, they explain on the website of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).
The largest number of trips is usually recorded on Fridays in the direction of departure from the large urban centers between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.; the Saturdays, also in the exit direction, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; and the Sundays, at the entrances to large urban centers from 7:00 p.m. and until 10:00 p.m.
Since BlaBlaCar, app created to connect drivers who have available seats in their vehicles with passengers looking for a trip, confirm that this week's reservations have reached 70% of those they had on these same dates in 2019. “This weekend there more than 20,000 published trips, reaching levels of summer 2020. The most requested trips are from the interior to the coast, especially towards the Mediterranean”, confirmed to Traveler.es.
Wear comfortable clothes, a suitable temperature in the car (21ºC), travel with your seat belt on, respect speed limits, stop every two hours at the most, be careful... these are basics that most drivers have already internalized. However, before this first trip after the end of the state of alarm, doubts arise, perhaps new ones, that experts from RACE (Royal Automobile Club of Spain), PROVIAL (Association of road training teachers) and BlaBlaCar will help us answer.
SIX MONTHS WITHOUT MAKING A LONG TRIP, WHAT DOES THIS TRANSLATE INTO?
"The most important is a loss of habits. When we are several weeks without driving, one misses daily practice which is what makes him have a series of habits, such as being aware of traffic”, he explains to Traveler.es Antonio Lucas, director of Road Safety at RACE.
Children must always travel in their safety devices
Pilar Prieto, president of PROVIAL, she specifies some aspects. “There have been people who have been confined for a long time and the perception of distances, car measurements and speeds is altered when you have been locked up for a long time”. Given this, she recommends that we get used to look away again.
Due to the loss of habits, it is likely that our reaction time has also been affected. “From the moment you perceive the problem until you react, in the pre-pandemic situation we were in a second or three-quarters of a second. Currently, we are observing in those who have not been able to drive, their reaction time is increased to a second and a half and two seconds, which is similar to driving with extreme fatigue or even with alcohol symptoms while being perfectly fine.” Facing it, increased safety distance, both frontally and laterally, with other vehicles.
Both experts agree that driving has to be full attention and, of course, after a while without doing it we tend to be more distracted. "Not only because of the cell phone, but because when the driver feels overwhelmed he begins to do what he shouldn't: I put on and take off sunglasses, change stations, search for CDs...", summarizes Prieto.
Prieto also talks about the call highway Hypnosis, caused by monotony in pathways where there are no stimuli. “It makes our perception of the actual speed that we have decrease. This is happening even more because the level of tension that we have after so long without driving makes us pay more attention to other things than speed. So be careful entering cities and let's check the speedometer."
For as many times as necessary
Habits are difficult to recover and there are those who come to have more stress before this first displacement. The good news? They leave when "you recover that daily practice of driving", Luke adds.
WHAT ATTITUDE DO WE HAVE TO HAVE ON THE ROAD?
Regardless of whether it is the first long trip we have made in months or not, "we have to understand that the road is not ours, it is shared by all users. Must excuse all mistakes because we are not perfect either”, Prieto points out and then adds: “Sharing life and the road responsibly, patiently, calmly and knowing how to enjoy”.
HOW DO WE HAVE TO FACE THIS FIRST JOURNEY?
“Preparing it in time”, Lucas sentence in a phrase that serves to refer to the previous maintenance of the vehicle, but also how we are going to prepare for the journey, a find out about the routes and to be aware that it also comes into play the human factor.
“Many people are going to get on the road with this loss of driving practice, which is going to increase incidents and safety must be increased.” Namely, safety distance, monitor fatigue, respect traffic situations, see how the rest of the vehicles evolve, be careful with motorcycles, which are vulnerable users, and do not set an arrival time. "Calmly, confidently and safely, but with caution."
And one more point, attention must be essential on short journeys and on secondary roads because being in destiny also accidents take place.
DO WE DO A TEST BEFORE?
After so much time without making a long trip, making only short trips or even without driving, It doesn't hurt to practice in places we already know.
“The ideal thing would be for us to take the car around the area where we live and assess what conditions we are in because perhaps taking a trip the first weekend we can drive is not the most appropriate. No matter how much desire we have, ”explains Prieto.
Lucas speaks in the same sense: "Perhaps it is convenient make small movements before the trip to get back in touch with the vehicle and once again have that perception of how we receive the information, the necessary anticipation that we have to have, how we see the traffic... It seems that we are automating it, but the loss of habits may surprise us or if an incident arises we may take longer to react”.
WHAT IF I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR ALL THESE MONTHS?
In these first longer journeys, they will join drivers who are aware that they have not been driving for a long time with those who are going very fast because they have not stopped driving.
"Driving on a large displacement is very different from driving on small urban or known displacements", assures Lucas, who points out the importance of being far-sighted when it comes to speed, of maintaining safety distances from other vehicles, of signaling maneuvers and of being very aware that many of the people who are going to hit the road may not have those habits.
“Those drivers who have found roads with little traffic, where they have assumed more risk due to speed, They have to remember that it is essential to drive with caution and preventively”, he underlines.
“Drivers who have had short trips and are now going to make a big one, have to be aware that It is a different way of driving and you have to be prepared”.
HOW DO WE PREPARE THE CAR?
It was almost like a ritual. Every summer vacation began before he hit the road, with his visit to the gas station or garage to make a little check on the car and check that everything was in order.
That is what Lucas invites us to do in order to recover contact with the vehicle. “The correct tire pressure, the spare wheel, that we only remember her when we need her, see that we have removed the leaves that may have fallen and raise the hood of the car, check that the battery works correctly”.
Also be proactive and review those things that we may need in an emergency. "For example, incorporate the assistance telephone number, safety elements, the reflective vest, the V-16 emergency light, into our agenda, It will come into force in a few months.
And, of course, before we start driving, take two minutes to make sure everything is okay. “Like when you were in driving school, what the teacher told us check the mirrors. It's a good exercise," says Lucas, who then also highlights the importance of carrying out good headrest adjustment and he remembers that children should always travel with their child safety system.
HOW OFTEN DO WE STOP?
Logic says that you should stop when you feel tired without exceeding two or three hours of driving in a row. Nevertheless, “in this context it is recommended not to exceed an hour or an hour and a half, even if we don't have any symptoms of fatigue”, explains Prieto.
Of course, it is not worth stopping in any way. “It is convenient to mobilize the vehicle, get off, walk, wet your face with fresh water”, lists the president of PROVIAL.
In addition, Prieto stresses the importance of not cheating the body and of stop as soon as we detect the slightest sign of fatigue, even if we started driving 40 minutes ago. "That 'I feel a little tired and I drink coffee or anything that has caffeine' is a serious mistake because our body is sending us a signal and what caffeine does is cover it up. Then we can have the rebound effect where you get terribly tired and you can't react in time."
WHAT ARE THESE SIGNS OF TIREDNESS?
Among other symptoms, itchy eyes, discomfort in the seat or stiffness, especially in the cervical area. "It seems that you are raising your shoulders and that's when you try to relax, but it occurs so gradually that you don't realize it until you feel pain," explains Prieto.
Speaking of fatigue, Prieto also recommends that the other occupants of the vehicle do not fall asleep during the journey. “In a large percentage of cases of drivers falling asleep at the wheel, many of the occupants were asleep. Sleepiness is related to boredom.”
IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT…
According to Prieto, the forecasts in these first trips is that there will be collisions and friction due to reaching, “the typical tap here and tap there”.
Given this, the president of PROVIAL asks avoid the voyeur effect: maintain speed and don't slow down to look. And she reminds us of the rule PAS: protect, warn and help. "We stop in a safe place, call 112 and then help as much as we can."
If the sinister we have, “Get out of the car, breathe, feel lucky that nothing has happened because the important thing is that we are all well. Material damage is not a problem.
ANY RECOMMENDATION IF WE SHARE A VEHICLE WITH PEOPLE WE DO NOT LIVE WITH?
Before the trip, from BlaBlaCar they indicate that the owner of the car carry out prior cleaning and disinfection of the vehicle, paying special attention to surfaces that may be in contact with the hands such as door handles.
Along the way, of course, make use of the mask, something mandatory when traveling with non-cohabitants. In this sense, they recommend avoid eating or drinking during the trip unless necessary. In addition, they urge to maintain good hand hygiene and to keep the windows down whenever possible to ensure good ventilation.
Finally, they advise keep a safe distance as much as possible, both outside and inside the car. What to greet with the hand or with two kisses? Not yet.
And yes, even at the risk of being obvious, anyone who has symptoms compatible with Covid-19 should refrain from traveling.