Photo: pixabay.com / jonbonsilver
Driving comes as second nature for many, but after months of working from home and only driving out for essential stuff, it feels strange. “Overwhelming” and “overstimulating” is how some drivers would describe it.
A recent survey by Reviews.com included 1,207 respondents from the U.S. and U.S. territories from all age brackets, both men and women. The idea was to get a sense of how drivers were feeling, now that they were back on the road after months of keeping their cars in the garage during lockdown.
Somehow predictable, the answer was, for 28 percent of all respondents, “not too good.” Drivers said they were feeling “overstimulated” and “overwhelmed” especially in heavy traffic on the highway, and that they found themselves having to pay more attention to what was happening around them.
“Getting on the freeway for the first time in two months was surreal. It took a lot more focus to feel comfortable merging through traffic. I had to pay close attention to what all the other cars around me were doing,” one person, who is now driving two or three times a week, says. “My instincts just weren’t there.”
Another respondent said that the feeling disappeared more or less within a week of constant driving.
Again, not surprisingly, the feeling of being overwhelmed at the wheel is directly proportional to the age of the respondents. More than 40 percent of those aged over 65 said they felt “very” overwhelmed to be driving again, while those aged 18 to 35 said they only felt “somewhat” so, if at all.
These are not earth-shattering findings, to be clear. Driving is an acquired skill and fades away without constant practice. However, the findings could add substance to fears that insurance premiums will be taking off again, after hitting the lowest point during the lockdown, when there were few cars on the road. With a spike in crashes will probably come a spike in premiums.
Somehow predictable, the answer was, for 28 percent of all respondents, “not too good.” Drivers said they were feeling “overstimulated” and “overwhelmed” especially in heavy traffic on the highway, and that they found themselves having to pay more attention to what was happening around them.
“Getting on the freeway for the first time in two months was surreal. It took a lot more focus to feel comfortable merging through traffic. I had to pay close attention to what all the other cars around me were doing,” one person, who is now driving two or three times a week, says. “My instincts just weren’t there.”
Another respondent said that the feeling disappeared more or less within a week of constant driving.
Again, not surprisingly, the feeling of being overwhelmed at the wheel is directly proportional to the age of the respondents. More than 40 percent of those aged over 65 said they felt “very” overwhelmed to be driving again, while those aged 18 to 35 said they only felt “somewhat” so, if at all.
These are not earth-shattering findings, to be clear. Driving is an acquired skill and fades away without constant practice. However, the findings could add substance to fears that insurance premiums will be taking off again, after hitting the lowest point during the lockdown, when there were few cars on the road. With a spike in crashes will probably come a spike in premiums.
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