DawnM Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I am always amazed at those who drive a 20 hour or so trip and START their trip at 8pm and drive straight through. I cannot drive past about 1am and neither can DH. We have to stop and have sleep. A 20 hour trip or so and I could see leaving at 5am and driving until 1am if you have at least 2 drivers. But I would still be completely wiped out once I got there. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I do a ton of crazy long trips and 8 hours is the maximum I can drive. I have done 10 hours several times and its been reallly hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We did a 23 hour drive a few years ago. It was fine until about 3am and then it got really bad. And guess who had to do the final leg of the drive *through Los Angeles*? Me! Because the husband was exhausted. At least it was 4 in the morning and no one was out. I will never do that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I am always amazed at those who drive a 20 hour or so trip and START their trip at 8pm and drive straight through. I cannot drive past about 1am and neither can DH. We have to stop and have sleep. A 20 hour trip or so and I could see leaving at 5am and driving until 1am if you have at least 2 drivers. But I would still be completely wiped out once I got there. Dawn I can drive longer when I get up early and start the day driving than I can if I start in the evening. I just do much better starting "fresh." Unfortunately, DH likes to do the opposite, start to drive in the evening and drive overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We uesed to when we were in college. LOL We had a lot of stamina back then. 12-14 hours is our maximum now. When we take the rocket team to D.C., we leave at 5:30 a.m. and arrive around 7:30 p.m. We do fine with that. Driving fresh starting in the morning is better for us than driving into the wee hours of the morning. In college, we used to head out on the 1400mile trip to DH's parents' house after our last exam, anywhere from 2-4p.m., and drive until 4 a.m..pull into a rest area and sleep for a couple of hours, and then drive the rest of the way without anything but potty breaks. We were young and in crazy love back in those days...apparently the combo was enough to keep us going! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Can and should are two different things. My understanding is that fatigue impairs driving ability as much as alcohol does, I would not personally choose to take such a risk nor do I want to share the road with those who do. I consider it a very foolhardy choice :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 No. Once when we were younger (and pre-kids) DH and I left at midnight, drove from NC to Orlando, checked into our hotel, went to Epcot and didn't go back to our hotel until about midnight. No way could we do that now. We try to avoid driving more than eight or ten hours a day now. If we have to do a long drive we leave in the early morning hours (4:00 a.m. or so) and minimize evening/night time driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I think I'm fine until 3ish, and I can and have done until 4-6am but those were all on empty highway. It gets scary @3am when the coffee stops working. Usually dh will drive all day and I read out loud, and I will take over in the evening because I am much better at night driving. I usually stop and get new caffeine and sugar. Then I either put on some sing-along music or find some techno on the radio. The idea is to keep your body moving; sing, dance, hop in your seat. It's ironic but if I'm not driving I'm usually asleep. I'm out by 10 if dh is driving. I just can't will myself awake if I'm sitting there, even if we're talking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 If I plan ahead, stay up the night before, and sleep the day before I can drive all night. It's no different than shift work. There is still a limit to how long I can be in a car without loosing it. I can't imagine getting into a situation where I chose to drive 20 hours at once. I'm not sure I'd do that to cash in a big lottery ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Nope. When I was a kid I got motion sickness as did my siblings when we had long drives (heck back then a long drive for my body was anything more than 30 minutes). My folks would give us gravol, I hated that stuff so instead I trained myself to fall asleep before that 30 minute mark to avoid getting sick and therefore avoid the gravol. The side effect of that is I have never been able to untrain myself from getting tired while in the vehicle. Add to it the bone deep fatigue I deal with and my maximum is 2-3 hours and then I either have to stop and take a power snooze or get out and walk around for a while to wake myself up fully again. It takes longer chunks of time to snooze/walk around in the over night period than during the daytime. In the day I can get away with 20 minutes and be awake, in the night I would need an hour each time. So no I could never drive overnight like that. I am better off starting right after breakfast, driving until lunch, break for lunch, drive till dinner, take a break and then drive a little while more. My maximum would be about 9 hours a day of driving plus the 2 meal stops before having to find a place to stay over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Yes, I really enjoy long drives. I do get more tired now in my old age. ;) But driving at night is easier because there's a lot less traffic. Coffee is my friend. ;) I should note that I'm a night person by nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can drive 8-10 hours but only during the day - I actually love long road trips. I can't drive at night much at all. We've always been more the get up at 3 am and leave people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 we often start after evening classes get out, and drive up to six hours, then throw sleeping bags on the ground and sleep til sun-up and then start driving again. it gives us an extra day. we cannot drive without stopping, as while dh can nap in the car in a way that improves his reaction time, i become a zombie..... fwiw, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I have done about 12 hrs (with no second driver), but not starting at the beginning of the night. I can get up and start a trip at 3 or so in the morning. That is actually my preference; a really, really early start with an early bedtime the night before. I could probably get more than 18 hours in with an early start, but I've never had the need to do it, and it would not be something I would want to attempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Dh and I used to do overnight driving trips. Now, I am entirely too old. The last time we tried it was from Houston to Augusta, GA. I got to Atlanta and honestly should have stopped 90 miles from home. I am entirely too old for that kind of nonsense now! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Can I drive all night? No, I'd worry myself sick about deer. (Which is rather ironic, since I'm about to answer another post about why someone should not worry so much.) I don't mind driving at night locally, but if I plan long distances around sunset hours--in the winter, I've left my dd's college at 2:00 p.m. so I get home just after sunset. I'm really looking forward to DST this weekend!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can either drive until 3am or start at 3am but there is something about that dead time in the absolute middle of the night that I can't drive through. I used to drive 20 hours every few months and would always get up at 3 so I was on the road by 4 and drive straight through until midnight with no problem. I could never have started at midnight and driven through the night though...even if it was only a few hours into the trip I would fall asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I could do it in college but that was so many years ago. Then there was a long time I couldn't do it. I probably could do it now since I have times when I have insomnia but we don't do that anymore. I have gone out to do some errands at 3am though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumshadow Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 In general no, being military we have had to drive from WA state to the east coast plenty of times and there were days when we just wanted to get to a certain point. DH an I would just tag team until we go there, even if it meant going from 8am to 2am. Those times are few and far between usually we max out between 6-8 hours of driving. This past cross country trip (oct/nov) it was more like 5-7 hours due to our toddler. ETA: Maybe if we had a destination that was several hours and not days away it would be different. Our longest single day road trip was like 7 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Heck, I can't even stay awake for 20 hours straight!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Um, no. That ended when I was about 23/24. I need sleep now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Nope! I wouldn't even attempt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Can I? Yes. I don't get tired at night, to speak of - I force myself to go to bed (even knowing I had to get up for work at 7am, I had to force myself to bed at 1:30am this morning - and didn't fall asleep til after 3). It's just the way my body is. DH and I used to make 17 hour drives back and forth to MO in a straight shot, no problem. Do I? No. I like being able to stop somewhere in between and relax, stretch out, watch tv, get ice cream... whatev. More than anything, though, the kids need that time out of the car. They are night owls like me (and DH, but he gets up early for work so he can fall asleep at night easier), so the one time that we drove through the night with them (it was my FIL's not so genius idea - the extended family was all caravaning and he thought that time frame would be better so 'the kids would sleep' :rolleyes: ...despite the fact they are excellent travelers anyway...) they just stayed up most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We couldn't drive through the night. DH likes to go to bed early and wake up super early. The rest of us stay up late so when it's time to get into the car, we're all still in sleeping mode. DH drives the full 15 hours to the inlaws with breaks every 3 to 4 hours. I absolutely hate car rides longer than one hour, so I sleep the entire way. Then I have a hard time going to sleep that night, but oh well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Only if we were to take shifts but really, we stop and camp or get a hotel room. I can't imagine doing it unless I were trying to get to a dying person's bedside or something though. Because otherwise, why am I in that big of a hurry?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can - I'm a night owl, and I enjoy driving the midnight-5am shift. And with small children it's an awesome way to do long drives, because they sleep for most of it. It lets us do an 18 hour drive with littles in one go, instead of taking two days. But it only works if we are going to visit family, because then our parents can watch the kids while dh and I sleep; otherwise we take two days (or sometimes three days, coming back, if the kids are having problems traveling). I grew up in a family that did 24 hour drives in 24 hours, so it's normal for me; although when my parents hit their 40s, they decided they were too old for driving all night, and we did 18 hours the first day, stopped for 6 hours of sleep, and did 6 hours the second day, which put us in just after lunch instead of just before breakfast. (And, as my parents pointed out, since they slept till lunch when we drove straight through, it was all about the same in terms of time spent with family anyway.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 No. My max as a lone driver is 9 hours during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can drive for long stretches during the day but not late at night. I prefer to leave very early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can do it if someone is sharing the driving. When we go to Florida (18+ hour drive for us) we leave mid-morning and end up with lots of stops. Then we stop around bedtime and get the kids changed into PJ's, give them a 'bedtime' snack and even sing lullabies. Everyone knows there's to be no talking and they all fall asleep. Then DH and I take turns. The adrenaline you get from wanting to make good time while the kids are sleeping is really helpful =) However, I could never do that on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Nope, we're morning people. I can't see us even considering it--if we needed to get somewhere that fast, we might as well fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I'm with you, Dawn. After 5 hours of driving, I get fatigued. I really need a "co-pilot" to talk to if I am going to drive more than 5 hours (3 hours after dark.) I would need to stop about every hour to use the washroom, do jumping jacks, push-ups and to chug a diet cola and then I'm good for another hour to go to the bathroom and repeat the process. Then I am useless the next day. Even if I am not driving, I need to stop every 3 hours to use the washroom and stretch my legs - my max per day is 10 hours in a car and those last couple of hours is torture. Dh needs his sleep even more than I do. So, no overnight drives for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I've done that a couple times. I need munchies and caffeine, but I would rather do that than stop when it's just me and the kids. I usually have to take breaks every couple hours and get out, move around, get some fresh air, and use the washroom. The kids need it about that often too. I did a quick trip just this past week where I was up at 3am and didn't get home until around 10p.m. That's a fairly normal thing to me, but then, I don't sleep a lot even when I am home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 If I had to yes, but I'd pay for it later. More because of 20 hours, not because of over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I can during the day, at night if low traffic (glare kills me). Usually dh does the driving though if a long trip (well except when we moved from GA back to MI. He drove the u haul with his truck on a tow dolly and I drove my car, we stopped in Kentucky) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnomeyNewt Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I am a night-owl for sure, but I do not like to drive in general. However, if you put me in the right car that I think is fun (aka cars I cannot afford but are super awesome) I might be able to drive for quite a while. Once I get sleepy though, I would have to switch or sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 No, I can barely stay awake til 10 when not paying attention to anything in particular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I lived in Arkansas and worked in Florida for about 8 months before moving to Florida permanently. I had a 15 hour commute. So, yes, I drove all night frequently. Driving in bright sun makes me sleepy so I pull over more to sleep during the day than night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I cannot drive for longer than an hour. I fall asleep. I have fallen asleep driving before and woken up on the wrong side of the road. The only way I can drive for longer than an hour is to have a full bladder. it keeps me awake but there is a limit on how long you can do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isabella Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 We have done a few all nighters, with changing driver regularly, sometimes changing every twenty minutes. Also including a couple of power naps of 20 mins or so, but I really, really do not like to do it. I can easily drive that same time starting fresh early in the morning and finishing late at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoot Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Nope. I don't drive after dark because some sort of inner ear thing makes me dizzy while driving when it's dark, especially if there are lights coming toward me. My body also shuts down promptly at 8:30 on week nights and no later than 10 on weekends. My dh gets frustrated because he can be talking to me, and mid-sentence I will simply drop if my "bed time" hits. It canbe a bit ffrustrating, to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I can't drive at all DH used to be able to, he often tells me how he went from Brisbane to Sydney and back in like 2 days total. But now he has sleep apnoea and begins to drift after about 30 minutes. We can do longer trips if we plan the timing and stuff, but nothing over 3-4 hours without a considerable break I drove him nuts on our honeymoon, because I got antsy after, like, 90 minutes and wanted to stop at every town while he wanted to drive 6 hours straight to our destination. I was bouncing off the walls SO BORED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 About the longest drive I've ever done in a day is the one I did on Thursday between my home and my mom's. 13 hours, including two longish breaks (one for breakfast at Denny's, one for a late picnic lunch). Left the house at a quarter of five, arrived about 6 (Arizona time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Nope, I get delirious and panicked around 2am, so we always stop before midnight to sleep. Dh falls asleep if he is tired, so that is no good either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 No way. I've only stayed up all night a couple of times in my life (one of them when in labor with DD, so no choice!). It's really hard for me to stay up all night, and to be driving at that time would be crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 I just can't do it. In fact, I can't even do red eye flights. I need about 3 days' recovery time. I could do them as a teen and into my 20s. I am not sure if it is kids or age, or both, but I can't do it easily anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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