Top tips to stay alert behind the wheel

By Stuart Johnston

One of the biggest challenges of taking a marathon road-trip is to stay awake and alert. Here are a few tips to ensure you that you and your passengers get to your final destination with all your organs intact.

Chew on this!

Being a motor-mouth will increase your chances of enjoying an accident-free festive season. That’s the word-of….err…-mouth from one of South Africa’s foremost road safety experts.

“It may sound strange, even a little ridiculous, but one of the keys to maintaining focus on long-dtsance trips is to keep your mouth moving,” says Philip Hull of the Road Safety Foundation South Africa.

If you are talking, chewing or singing, you are cool

“The point is, if your mouth is moving you aren’t about to doze off. Whether you’re talking, singing, chewing on biltong or soft-sweets, or having a conversation with your fellow passengers, it means that you are mentally active behind the wheel. Long straight roads can have the effect of mesmerising you so that you can fall into a dream state. By keeping your mouth moving, you are actively engaged in an activity that requires you to be awake. “

Make sure your body is topped up

Hull stresses the importance of good hydration and nutrition before setting out on a long journey, as well as being well-rested before spending long stretches behind the wheel.

“One of the considerations is to keep your blood sugar levels stable.  Many people are border-line diabetics without even being aware of it, and this can lead to severe drop-offs in energy and awareness.”

However, for people with stable blood-sugar,  Hull is a great believer in the benefits of snacking on chewy sweets over a long trip, particularly because these keep your jaws moving. Biltong is another road food he is keen off, again because eating biltong  involves plenty of jaw-movement. And the slow-energy release of a food like biltong is good for maintaining concentration over longer periods.

Stop and walk around the car

 “Circulation is also of great  importance for concentration, as well as retaining good reaction times, which may be necessary if sudden avoidance actions on steering wheel, brakes or accelerator are called for.

“For this reason we recommend that the driver takes a short break every two hours, even if it is to stop and walk around the car a few times. This gets the blood moving, clears the head, and breaks the monotony of a long trip. Usually we recommend that drivers take these breaks at service stations, of which there are plenty along our major routes.”

Music can jazz you up, or make you too mellow

According to research carried out by Hull’s organisation, the jury is still out on whether music in a car is beneficial or detrimental to maintaining concentration levels behind the wheel. It seems that this varies from one person to another, and the same is true of audio books, which have become popular amongst motorists travelling long distance in recent years.

Keep the vibes good inside the car

It goes without saying that the fewer negative distractions there are in the cabin of a car, the better the driving environment will be. People with children are advised to provide them with as much in-car entertainment as possible. But another good pastime is the playing of visual games that involve the environment in which you are travelling: an example of this could be  “who can spot the green car first?” and other such trivial pursuits.

Do the pre-journey checks first, not at the first re-fuel

“It goes without saying that it is in a motorist’s interest to ensure that his or her car is in good roadworthy condition before setting off on a holiday trip. We recommend strongly that all pre-journey checks are done before setting off, when the car’s working temperatures are cold.

Tyre pressures vary from hot to cold

“For instance, tyre pressures vary quite significantly from when the tyres are cold to when they have been running at 120 km/h for long periods. So check that they are at the correct pressure first. Also, we have found an enormous variance in the gauges located at various service stations. So invest in a good quality tyre pressure gauge that you keep in your car. Also be aware that there is a big variance between tyre pressures that occur when travelling between high altitude locations and the coast.”

Check oil and water when the car is cold

Oil and water levels are also best checked when cold. An engine that has been running for long periods of time will often have a fair portion of its oil capacity circulated in parts of the engine which the oil dip stick doesn’t measure. This in turn leads to running the risk of a service station attendant over-filling the engine with oil.

Coolant systems should also be checked when cold, and opening a coolant reservoir bottle when the engine is hot can lead to coolant escaping in a great shower of hot fluid and steam. And it can also lead to air-locks forming n the cooling system.

Don’t let petrol be added to a diesel car!

Make sure your car’s wiper blades are in good condition before setting off and don’t forget to check the window washer reservoir for fluid. And when you refuel at a service station, be sure that the attendant is introducing the right fuel into the tank! The biggest mistake that can be made here is when petrol is added to a diesel engine, or vice-versa. This can ruin your holiday and cost thousands of rand to remedy, and yet it’s a mistake that can easily be made!

Awareness is key

Awareness is key to it all, so it goes without saying that drinking and driving is a no-no, and driving with a serious hangover is almost as dangerous. So make sure both you are and your car are in good shape for the holidays ahead!