• mean_bean279@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Evidence suggests lots of things. There’s always outliers and people who have different skill sets for different things. That doesn’t invalidate the data and certainly I agree that many people are shitty at driving. The original comment was about people only going 250 miles and needing to rest, which I don’t find true. I drove the salt flats. As I got tired my wife and switched driving since the scenery was so… flat. Usually the mountainous driving I do keeps me awake since I need to be actively paying attention or I’d die.

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      This isn’t really about skill though. It’s about mental exhaustion and what that means when it comes to safety.

      • mean_bean279@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Skill is having a larger capacity until mental/physical exhaustion. If someone runs every day they’re a skilled runner. Their capacity to run is greater than mine because they aren’t as quick to become exhausted. The same is true for the brain.

        • lud@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Maybe, but I just feel that a skilled driver would be smart enough to know that it isn’t safe to drive for too long.

          And don’t forget the Dunning-Kruger effect.

          • mean_bean279@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Correct, however a driver with more skill also has more capacity for driving longer. I don’t think 250 miles (the original point of this whole thread) is long. 750 miles on the other hand… is. I could easily drive 750 miles with no problem. Get to my location, party for several hours and then finally sleep. I know this because I do it about once a year with family. Most people might not be able to go that long. Because they’re not a “skilled driver.” They haven’t built up capacity to understand. Even friends and family of mine when they drive aren’t doing the same things I’m doing. Listening to the car, hearing the inputs and feeling the inputs, monitoring grip levels, ensuring adequate room between other vehicles to ensure accidents can’t happen due to proximity. There’s ways to also lessen mental exhaustion as I mentioned. My car keeping me in the lane and keeping speed automatically for me. Camera systems to watch out for people and other cars with collision avoidance, not to mention another passenger as a set of eyes. A skilled driver would also know where there limit is. I found mine to be around mile 850~ I know this because as I was driving across country rushing back home at night that I didn’t feel I was performing at the level I needed to in order to safely operate a vehicle. No one else on the road for miles, but I switched drivers with my wife who I made nap as I knew I couldn’t do the whole 1000 miles needed in one go. That’s also the difference in skill. Knowing you’ll need assistance and making sure it’s in place when you do. Like having a hotel booked at 700 miles (or whatever mile marker a driver can safely drive) or making other stops as needed.

            I’d be interested to see a study on it, but I’d wager that Americans and Canadians can drive for longer than their European/Asian counterparts. Just due to the “training” we have of driving longer distances more frequently.

            • naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              11 months ago

              https://casr.adelaide.edu.au/casrpubfile/2951/CASR197.pdf australia is even more spread out than the USA or candada, being the same size and having vastly lower population density.

              This study finds that

              The most common risk factors for fatigue were long distance driving (41.4% of crashes), no/reduced/broken sleep (27.6% of crashes), illicit drug use (17.2% of crashes), and abnormal work/sleep routines (17.2% of crashes).

              further

              Fatigue contributed to 4.3% of casualty crashes and 11.5% of fatal crashes. Most fatigue crashes occurred during daylight hours (72.4%)

              literally 1 in 10 fatal crashes involved fatigue, and 4/10 fatigue crashes involve long distance driving. Maybe just take a break, 10 minutes isn’t worth your life. It’s not an issue of how tough or manly you are, how bulbous and engorged your testes are, or whatever other issue of ego you’re having. You are an animal, you get tired.