How Driving On UK Roads Can Be Stress Free

Richard Jenkins
February 20, 2008

People often assess how good a car journey has been by how quickly it took them to complete. Speed seems to be our barometer. The less time the journey takes the better the journey.

Such a mentality however often leads to increased driver pressure. Turning driving from a pleasurable experience into a stressful chore, an activity that must be tolerated but not enjoyed.

This in turn leads to a culture of impatient and rushed driving where drivers seem to compete, often aggressively, with anything that gets between them and their destination. Obstacles such as the weather, traffic delays and road works are conspiracies of congestion designed to slow progress and increase stress levels.

But how much time is really save when driving this way?

If this style of driving is indicative of the way you drive then consider this experiment. On a journey you regularly take time this journey twice. The first time you take the journey drive as you normally would. On the second occasion purposely drive in a more relaxed and less rushed manner.

When the two journey times are compared people are often surprised how little time difference there is. On a short journey of less than an hour the difference can be as little as a couple of minutes. On a longer journey of several hours the difference is unlikely to be more than ten to fifteen minutes.

As a less hurried driver myself I am often amused by how often I catch up with a car that has impatiently overtaken me whether at a junction or traffic queue ahead.

After each journey consider to yourself how you feel. Is there any difference? Did the second journey leave you feeling less stressed and more relaxed? You may have saved a few minutes driving more quickly but how have you used these saved minutes?

In all likelihood the second journey left you feeling more relaxed and refreshed. This will certainly be the case if you accept obstacles such as the road works and delays are completely out of your control. Fewer overtaking manoeuvres, less chance of mistakenly being caught out by a speed camera all result in a less stressful more enjoyable journey.

Driving in this manner will also reduce your chances of being involved in a road accident. You’ll become a safer driver. Inappropriate speed is a major cause of road accidents so why take such risks when there is little to gain but potentially everything to lose. Even if you reduce it to money, think of how much you save on car insurance thanks to a no claims bonus.

Ultimately if things go wrong which you have no control over, so what? Relax and get to your destination safely and devoid of stress.

Richard Jenkins is the owner of the driving test and driving schools website. A site for learner drivers providing guides on topics such as the driving theory test and cheap young drivers car insurance .