Driving long distance

PhillyDee said:
Oh, I will be doing it, was just hoping there was a magic cure for 'jammed into a car for too long' syndrome :D. I have downloaded a load of podcasts, from comedy to nerdy, so should be quite entertained. Wish I had cruise control. The car was advertised with it, but didn't actually have it, though it was in excellent condition for an even more excellent price so I bought it anyway.
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Swap it for an old GS300 or something :p
 
I did 1700km in two days, plus several hours work each day this week.

300km of that was on poor dirt roads, made up almost entirely of coarse sand, could only travel at 30-90kmh.

At least a third of the driving was at night, full beams and spot lights make it easy.

Bumpy road surface and wildlife mean you have to concentrate, lots of wild goats and emus just run across the road during the day.

I just load up my iPod with 1000 different songs rather than an album and stick that on, keep hydrated too as the aircon dries me out.
 
PhillyDee said:
Lol :D, actually, its a Mondeo MK3 facelift. I am 6ft, and have long legs (and size 14 feet). Its comfier than my Rover! I still do not feel like I fit in it properly though.
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Maning up!

I'm 6'2", have size 13 feet and have driven my rattly, old, uncomfortable Integra for 8hrs up to Aberdeen with just one stop for coffee and fuel. My backside hated the Recaros after this time, but it was dealt with by just....*refer to first two posted words above*.

:cool:
 
PhillyDee said:
Lol :D, actually, its a Mondeo MK3 facelift. I am 6ft, and have long legs (and size 14 feet). Its comfier than my Rover! I still do not feel like I fit in it properly though.
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I am 6ft 5 with size 14 feet, Last Sunday I drove up to Bradford, 2 hours there fitted my hardtop in ten minutes & 2 hours back, I drive a Eunos/MX5.
That's only 4 hours driving though & you want to do 4 hours & 15 minutes so I understand your worry when you have a Mk3 Mondy.


Kids these days, I don't know. :p (Standard response to Young Gay attitude) :D
 
mattyg said:
North west, Paisley, Tewkesbury back to the North west
690 miles per night 5 nights a week.
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That's anywhere between 10 and 13 hours driving every night, 5 days a week? That's more than even a professional driver is allowed to do.
 
I find that rolling my shoulders back in circles every once in a while helps free me up from "locking" behind the wheel. Sometimes it's possible to stretch your neck left and right too.

Depending on the traffic situation, if it's quiet enough, I find myself varying hand positions. Normal 10 to 2, or quarter to 3 positions. Then right hand only from window sill, right hand from arm rest. Left hand on it's own, left hand from arm rest, both hands on the bottom of the wheel etc etc. Obviously, when passing other traffic, both hands go back to normal position.

Furthest I did in one go was nearly 700 miles down to the south of France in my old Cavalier, really enjoyed that drive :)
 
4T5 said:
I am 6ft 5 with size 14 feet, Last Sunday I drove up to Bradford, 2 hours there fitted my hardtop in ten minutes & 2 hours back, I drive a Eunos/MX5.
That's only 4 hours driving though & you want to do 4 hours & 15 minutes so I understand your worry when you have a Mk3 Mondy.


Kids these days, I don't know. :p (Standard response to Young Gay attitude) :D
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Well, 5 and a half down, maybe an hour meeting (who knows), then I hope 4.5 hours back up. Though I really do suspect it will be "find a cheap travel lodge" sort of driving.

Kids? Pretty sure my age is in my profile :p
 
mattyg said:
I'm not a HGV driver and didn't say I was either.:p
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No, you didnt, I didnt either.

What you said was it comes in under domestic driving rules.

It doesnt.

Which is strictly 10 hours, even on a PSV.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...s_and_Tachographs_-_PSVs_in_GB_and_Europe.pdf

Even if you drove at 70mph from the minute you started to the minute you pull up, its 9 hours 50mins ish.

Which is the point I was making, if its only in a van or something, then fantastic, but in a professional driving job with a vocational license, no transport manager would put that route on.
 
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Used to do a 4hour commute a day for over 2months wasnt really an issue the time.

Just make sure your seat is adjusted right and then you should be fine, most importantly if you feel stiff tired or whatever, take a break dont drive beyond your limits.
 
atpbx said:
You couldn't do it as a professional (HGV ) driver.

690 miles is 12.5 solid hours driving at 56mph with no breaks.
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I couldn't do it as a "HGV" driver as I don't have the correct license:D

You waded in saying " You couldn't do it as a professional (HGV ) driver".
I never claimed I could.

Your arguing apples and oranges

Yes your correct no transport manager would risk that run for HGV's or PSV's however we run small vans and cars and that was the biggest run. Which I did as I knew it was tight.

You've also miss quoted me
I said it comes under the "GB Domestic driving rules"
https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/gb-domestic-rules
 
I've frequently done 7+ hours when driving to France. Right kind of car definitely helps. I wouldn't want to be driving that long in a Renault 5 for instance :)
 
I have to lol at a lot of these "long distance" drives, with breaks every 3 meters or so.

The last drive I did, was Aberdeen to Timisoara, IN ONE GO. Only stopping to fuel up. No sleep, no rests. Straight.

28hrs, 1800miles.

Check it on google maps. Didn't even sleep on the Eurotunnel.
 
mattyg said:
I couldn't do it as a "HGV" driver as I don't have the correct license:D

You waded in saying " You couldn't do it as a professional (HGV ) driver".
I never claimed I could.

Your arguing apples and oranges

Yes your correct no transport manager would risk that run for HGV's or PSV's however we run small vans and cars and that was the biggest run. Which I did as I knew it was tight.

You've also miss quoted me
I said it comes under the "GB Domestic driving rules"
https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/gb-domestic-rules
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No you've misunderstood me, A professional driver couldn't do that run is all I am saying.

Its clear enough I thought.
A professional driver has a vocational license (HGV PSV) and as such couldn't do that run.
 
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