Car Travel |
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Driving at its best, when the car is going well and the open road lies ahead of you, can be a delightfully relaxing activity and do a lot to help unwind. But a number of quite clearly identifiable factors combine to make driving a high-profile stress-related activity.
To drive well in the first place, you need to be in a positively stressed state, that is mentally and physically alert, to cope with the infinite variety of situations which occur at a split second's notice on the road.
But stress in driving becomes harmful when it is aggravated by adverse conditions: heavy traffic and resulting congestion; the all too common aggression, bad manners and sloppy practice of other drivers; noise and vibration; mechanical problems with the car; diversions; tiredness - and even passengers! And other stress-related problems can make driving more stressful too: if your mind is preoccupied with these, your concentration and coordination, vital to good driving, will be impaired, and you will be more accident-prone.
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