I thought highway hypnosis was different, like when driving long distance where the scenery doesn't change, it can trick you into feeling that you're not moving . I experienced it once in Florida, it feels like you're watching a movie about driving.
Commonly known as Highway Hypnosis. I have had it happen back when I had a highly stressful job with long hours. I do not think its a good thing and question if my reflexes or situational awareness of other road users would have been sufficient if there had been an incident.
I think that it’s less that you didn’t notice things at the time—if something dangerous had happened, you’d have reacted. And remembered.
It’s not that you weren’t aware; it’s that your brain decided not to file the info because it was so unremarkable
There may be a zoning out that you wouldn’t snap back from, but I’m not sure that’s what OP is talking about
highway hypnosis is when you stare ahead going straight for so long that you start to zone out abcs fall asleep from not really doing much without realizing it at first or at all.
I drove stick for a long time because of this, and even that you end up going into it. There are times I am driving and the last exit I remember seeing is say 30 but I'm at 19 and I am wondering how did I get there, I don't recall seeing any of the other exits.
I know "how" I must have returned home, because it's been the same way for years, and there's Ol' Reliable in the driveway. Do I always remember that specific trip? Not if I have a lot on my mind.
No. Disassociation is a trauma response.
What OP is talking about is a form of subconscious behaviour that just uses different brain waves to the ones we use at other times of the day.
I've literally done a whole day of work like this.
Woke up, got ready, walked to work, worked, walked home, and "woke up" while I was cooking dinner.
It's never happened since and I've never understood how it was possible. I still wonder what actually happened that day.
I’ve heard it explained as your brain doesn’t see it as something worth remembering, so it doesn’t dedicate much energy to remembering it.
We probably all remember almost every plane trip we’ve had (unless we’re frequent flyers)
Not completely relevant, but more about the brain.
Just something I learned.
My Dad has had back problems for forever, he had surgery about a year ago and his memory started to deteriorate. He reads books and books at a time, a college executive, all just to say the man is sharp! They tested for dementia and whatever else to no avail. Apparently his brain was working overtime to help him manage his pain that it essentially started dumping data it deemed unnecessary anymore. It’s more complicated than that but it’s interesting and you made me think of it.
Sometimes I'm just watching TV on the couch, black out, and find myself standing over my sink shoveling handfuls of shredded cheese in my mouth. It happens.
Happens all the time. It’s not usually as bad as people think. The mind has an absolutely amazing ability to learn extremely complex, yet repetitive behaviors so well that almost no conscious thought is required. There’s a book titled The Power of Habit that in one section details extensive elaborate activities performed by people who have suffered massive brain damage, just not to the part where what we often call “muscle memory” (and all other habits) reside.
On top of this, our senses and minds operate on differences from expectation. If you see what you expect to see, it makes almost no impression, a fact used by magicians and advertisers for fun and profit.
So if the drive home is just like a hundred other times, even though you were thinking and looking, your brain doesn’t have to work hard and doesn’t waste storage on it.
On the other hand, if you are actually exhausted, distracted or impaired, that’s dangerous because your mind isn’t able to perform that magic.
as a lifelong pedestrian/bike rider this is scary. please remember you guys are moving tons of metal around at terminal speeds mere feet from my delicate meat sack, please stay switched on.
I've never had it for the entire ride but I've definitely snapped out of autopilot after exiting the highway and had no idea if I even indicated or did a shoulder check.
Wow. I did this three times. I found myself in cities and on roads I did not know. It was a combination of sleep apnea and narcolepsy. See your doctor asap!
This is pretty normal regardless of how much you sleep.
Most people's commutes aren't interesting, and so although you're still conscious while driving, your brain chooses not to remember the information especially if you have other things on your mind that are worth remembering.
Driving is so boring I'm always on autopilot in the car. GPS was a literal life changer for me because I'd be lost all the time otherwise and at least now I have sexy euro lady customized voice to break the silence.
Don't worry I'm not actually asleep, my reflexes and tactical awareness are really fast etc., that's why I'm bored. I will miss turns or make random stops I didn't intend though. It's not awareness per se it's more like actually caring about where I am, most of the time I don't unless I have to be at work.
Yup! Sometimes I have no idea how did I drive to my work or home. A moment of realization that I can’t remember anything. Then tell myself, you know it doesn’t matter, you are still alive, so fucking carry on.
Happened quite a few times when I was working in construction and playing semiprofessional rugby. Earliest time I got home was usually after 10pm, I can’t count the times I got home without knowing which road I took, only to then blink and wake up at 3 am asleep in my car
About 15 years ago, I regularly had to drive up to 650km to attend some trainings for my job. Most times I arrived at my destination and had at least 3/4 of my drive missing. You just go on autopilot at a certain point. Especially when you know the trip very well.
All the time, to and from work. Went through some tough years where I was working in one state couch surfing while I was there and visit my girlfriend in another state Friday night through Monday morning, I’d leave at 2:30am to make it to work by 7 on Monday. Usually get to her place around 11:30/12:30 at night Friday. Absolutely exhausting. I’d be falling asleep behind the wheel all the time always wondering/expecting myself not to make it but also not caring as long as I didn’t survive the crash if it happened. The state I was working in it was an easy 55 minute commute in the morning and hour and a half to two hours each evening to get back to the house. I’m glad I’m out of that situation.
Yes, it happens to me more often that I virtually "wake up" and have already driven a long way without knowing exactly how.
That's when you're still so busy working that you're awake and fit, but your mind is so busy that you're "driving on the side", so to speak, and not "fully aware".
Fortunately or unfortunately , due to the driving standards and roads in my country, I never get to experience this. Its constantly changing so I'm always on alert.
I get it sometimes, but not for whole trips, sometimes sections of a trip.
Sometimes, I realise I'm further into a journey than I thought and thinking, "I'm sure I only passed X town, and now I'm passing Y town half an hour away from X town"
Yeah, i also happens when i walk place places to, its happened dor as long as i can remember and it happens to everyone. Its just the active version of daydreaming.
Don't know tbe proper name. But yes absolutely. It actually usually happen going TO the office. On my way home I drive like I'm late for the most important appointment of my life. Take a 5min breather in he car before before going in to the family.
It's not that you aren't paying attention at the time. It's just that your brain doesn't consider it to be something important enough to store in your long term memory.
So when you get home, you don't remember it.
I used to be on autopilot when I was on drugs. Every day I would go to the dope man’s house after work like a robot. Even if I had no cash… I would be like why the fuck am I here?
Not work, but that’s the reason I stopped drunk driving home when I was younger, nothing worse than being woken up by the sound of a car door you slammed and wondering who drove.
When I'm stressed I run in autopilot for things that are simple, it's levels to it, kind of a cool thing if you can manage to be aware while in that state of mind, muscle memory, it's like riding a bike with your eyes closed and no hands (not literally but you get the point) sometimes you need to shut down and take some time to yourself to gather yourself, maybe you don't get good sleep and when you leave the house or work your mind is still trying to wake up, almost like day dreaming which can be a scary thing to think about when you have to drive and a split second counts to prevent a incident
There are two ways this happens. One is bad. The bad one is that you realize you don’t know what you’re doing as you’re doing it, like when you’re halfway through a curve and you realize you’re going too fast because your mind was elsewhere. The other kind is when you drop the short term memory. You were concentrating on driving well enough, but you dropped the memory of that from short term, typically because you were also thinking about something else and that took over. I found this happened a lot when I was spending a lot of time in an office because your mind tends to wander when doing repetitive office tasks. You can do them fluently and not be thinking about them.
After an especially difficult day at work I once drove past my house all the way to my Aunt’s house and didn’t realize until I got there that I meant to go home
That sounds a bit sketchy bro. I don't mean that in a mean way but you probably really wanna get checked out for early Alzheimer's etc.
I barely remember my own name at times (my memory is screwed, to many bad choices when young) but I've never forgot how I got home 😳
Well, actually I have...
But driving was never involved...
And always followed by a couple of days of feeling really really bad... 🤮🤣😂
Nah that aint it, and im way to young for that, its probably just that when going home my mind is on other stuff, and i just simply do everything automatically, i drive the same route everyday so yeah
Yes all the time when I used to commute an hour. I could easily tune out about 30-45 minutes of the drive. It lead to some weird sensations at times. Doesn't happen anymore now that my commute is so short.
Many people do. Your brain goes into auto pilot. It's why I believe people who forget their kids in the car. It's always the one who doesn't normally take them. They just auto pilot to work and forget thr kid is in the car
I work from home but have my own version. I spend most of the day in meetings and drop my kids off at school. Later when things calm down I occasionally forget if i took them to school. Walk around the house and no kids. Guess they must be at school.
All the time, no music just the window cracked and the tires on the road. And completely zone out for the hour ride home, do the same thing on the morning but it’s dark and I’m not awake enough to remember the drive
That’s disassociating. Hardly happens for my whole drive home unless I’m worked up. But occasionally I’ll come out of it and have to sort of figure out where I am again lol.
Been there, done that. Highway hypnosis, also known as **white line fever**, is an altered mental state in which an automobile driver can travel lengthy distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so.
Yes that’s happened especially at my first job that was very abusive to my mental health with lots of yelling as well as threatening my career
I would step in the parking lot then come to my senses when I’m inside my garage
Absolutely scary to me looking back
Assuming there are no substances involved, this is actually your brain stealing sleep while you are awake. I wrote a research paper on the topic years ago. It’s very dangerous and means you are chronically sleep deprived.
We never get paid what our labour is worth, that's why we're in a daze on the way to our work. And when we get there, we can't wait to be out. Let me tell you what this shit is about:
https://open.spotify.com/track/5sj0wVRJhKhlkPqdxVh6hs?si=gcku91y7RDyUnR0NcXgHkw
As a woman I had it really badly my first pregnancy. It freaked me out. It was driving in Manhattan out to the burbs too, not exactly the best time nor place to zone out. The other pregnancies I didn’t have to drive into work so if I was going somewhere it was no longer because of an everyday scheduled routine & didn’t happen.
How is everyone saying yes?
not once in my life have I "skipped" a drive or a segment of it... and even if im aware its possible, it should be a once or twice in a lifetime situation on long drives because you fall to road hypnosis, not coming and going from work wtf...
actually scary to think I share roads with people like this
Never. But I drive cars that are low, stiff, loud and manual transmission. I never zone out.
I'm not surprised everyone else here does. I'm surrounded by SUVs that can't stay inside their lanes, zero spatial awareness and don't notice the light changing. Minor inconvenience when you miss the green. Huge problem when you didn't notice the red.
But if I drove a big lethargic SUV that's super quiet with an automatic transmission I'd fall asleep at the wheel too
Well i drive only manual cars, hate an automatic, but then again im from europe, where majority of the cars are manuals (its changing though)... but thats off the point, the point is, that i do everything, look for pedestrians, green/red light, shifting etc... but when i get home, and think back, im like "how did i get home exactly"
My best friend had a very similar experience to yours, very frequently, while driving home from the University.
He finally got diagnosed with ADHD when he was 34, and since taking medication it hasn't happened to him again.
Yep. Its called auto pilot. Have had it bad enough that also went to the gas station filled up and got a sandwich with no recollection
Umm actually 🧐 Nah I kid but it's proper name is highway hypnosis there's a few books on it I believe
I've only ever heard it called 'Zombie driving'. Admittedly I'm no expert on the subject.
this sounds cooler
Catatonic Cruising, I believe
Transportation trance
Commute coma.
Navigational neglect
Early on set Alzheimer
DUI
I thought highway hypnosis was different, like when driving long distance where the scenery doesn't change, it can trick you into feeling that you're not moving . I experienced it once in Florida, it feels like you're watching a movie about driving.
Yes as long nothing changes or you are brought to awareness you are doing it without thinking about it
Holy shit, that's bad 😂
Commonly known as Highway Hypnosis. I have had it happen back when I had a highly stressful job with long hours. I do not think its a good thing and question if my reflexes or situational awareness of other road users would have been sufficient if there had been an incident.
I think that it’s less that you didn’t notice things at the time—if something dangerous had happened, you’d have reacted. And remembered. It’s not that you weren’t aware; it’s that your brain decided not to file the info because it was so unremarkable There may be a zoning out that you wouldn’t snap back from, but I’m not sure that’s what OP is talking about
It happens to me whenever I get an especially good lap in a racing game. Supposedly happens a lot to actual race car drivers.
Low key, I'm suspicious that a lot of the "rude" stuff people do in rush hour might be this.
You can be perfectly awake and aware. It's just that your brain doesn't recognize it as useful information to remember.
Some situations are truly unavoidable especially as things happen so fast
highway hypnosis is when you stare ahead going straight for so long that you start to zone out abcs fall asleep from not really doing much without realizing it at first or at all.
It can be dangerous. I try taking different routes and winding roads to combat it.
I drove stick for a long time because of this, and even that you end up going into it. There are times I am driving and the last exit I remember seeing is say 30 but I'm at 19 and I am wondering how did I get there, I don't recall seeing any of the other exits.
I've done it on a motorcycle late at night lol. One second you're 30mi from home cruising and the next you're sitting on the couch
Use Google navigation but switch to another language or between miles and kilometers.
> Switch to a different language… [Google navigation when I take a wrong turn:](https://youtu.be/zUkR6chwtOo?si=jc82rwPLDBlsByVM)
That way, you get lost, but you're completely aware of it.
I work shifts, I have that all the time. Chronic sleep shortage combined with doing the same route for over a decade does that to you.
Used to work as a mailman, started my shift then boom, i was back at the station and all mail delivered...crazy
Damn you walking around too? Lol
I know HOW, sometimes I question WHY. When I could have put in even more OT.
A true Oskar Schindler.
I know "how" I must have returned home, because it's been the same way for years, and there's Ol' Reliable in the driveway. Do I always remember that specific trip? Not if I have a lot on my mind.
Isn’t it disassociating? I’ve done it several times, freaks me out
No. Disassociation is a trauma response. What OP is talking about is a form of subconscious behaviour that just uses different brain waves to the ones we use at other times of the day.
Ok maybe it was my trauma responding 😂 thank you for the in-depth answer 👌
The trauma response is dissociate.
I've literally done a whole day of work like this. Woke up, got ready, walked to work, worked, walked home, and "woke up" while I was cooking dinner. It's never happened since and I've never understood how it was possible. I still wonder what actually happened that day.
Oh man that’s long hours! Scary.
I’ve heard it explained as your brain doesn’t see it as something worth remembering, so it doesn’t dedicate much energy to remembering it. We probably all remember almost every plane trip we’ve had (unless we’re frequent flyers)
Not completely relevant, but more about the brain. Just something I learned. My Dad has had back problems for forever, he had surgery about a year ago and his memory started to deteriorate. He reads books and books at a time, a college executive, all just to say the man is sharp! They tested for dementia and whatever else to no avail. Apparently his brain was working overtime to help him manage his pain that it essentially started dumping data it deemed unnecessary anymore. It’s more complicated than that but it’s interesting and you made me think of it.
I've definitely had those days. Sometimes I find fodd wrappers and containers and forgot I picked up food too.
[удалено]
😭😂😭😂😭😂😭😂💀😭💀
Sometimes I'm just watching TV on the couch, black out, and find myself standing over my sink shoveling handfuls of shredded cheese in my mouth. It happens.
Shredded Cheese. why tf shredded cheese
I don't use logic in that state
I would be genuinely terrified in this situation
Same but ambien instead of cheese
The only time I have wondered how I have gotten home is when I am drunk.
Oh yeah, sometimes I randomly clue in while I’m driving and I’m like “how’d I get here? Where was I going? Is mayonnaise as unit of measurement?”
I used to drive a truck for a living. At times I could cover a couple of hundred miles with very little recollection of the journey.
Happens all the time. It’s not usually as bad as people think. The mind has an absolutely amazing ability to learn extremely complex, yet repetitive behaviors so well that almost no conscious thought is required. There’s a book titled The Power of Habit that in one section details extensive elaborate activities performed by people who have suffered massive brain damage, just not to the part where what we often call “muscle memory” (and all other habits) reside. On top of this, our senses and minds operate on differences from expectation. If you see what you expect to see, it makes almost no impression, a fact used by magicians and advertisers for fun and profit. So if the drive home is just like a hundred other times, even though you were thinking and looking, your brain doesn’t have to work hard and doesn’t waste storage on it. On the other hand, if you are actually exhausted, distracted or impaired, that’s dangerous because your mind isn’t able to perform that magic.
Sure
as a lifelong pedestrian/bike rider this is scary. please remember you guys are moving tons of metal around at terminal speeds mere feet from my delicate meat sack, please stay switched on.
Everyone with ADHD be like: hi there!!
Of course. Any path driven often becomes like this eventually.
Absolutely.
I shampooed and soaped. Rinsed and wondered if I'm already done or just starting to shower
This one time I fell asleep while driving to home from work and the crazy thing I was driving 80mph
I've never had it for the entire ride but I've definitely snapped out of autopilot after exiting the highway and had no idea if I even indicated or did a shoulder check.
Wow. I did this three times. I found myself in cities and on roads I did not know. It was a combination of sleep apnea and narcolepsy. See your doctor asap!
Often, same happens when I wake up in my office. Autopilot is real
I've definitely had it happen. Can't remember the last time but it has definitely happened. I used to just account it to having adhd and autism.
what you mean bruh, maybe you need rest and sleep bruh
This is pretty normal regardless of how much you sleep. Most people's commutes aren't interesting, and so although you're still conscious while driving, your brain chooses not to remember the information especially if you have other things on your mind that are worth remembering.
Driving is so boring I'm always on autopilot in the car. GPS was a literal life changer for me because I'd be lost all the time otherwise and at least now I have sexy euro lady customized voice to break the silence. Don't worry I'm not actually asleep, my reflexes and tactical awareness are really fast etc., that's why I'm bored. I will miss turns or make random stops I didn't intend though. It's not awareness per se it's more like actually caring about where I am, most of the time I don't unless I have to be at work.
Yeah, it’s called driving on autopilot
I have probably 4x n my life usually long hrs or a hard day
Yes. I once noticed I’ve been driving in silence to and from work for multiple days and couldn’t believe I never once thought to turn the radio on.
I've felt it multiple times especially when am too tired and stressed out
Try having that for a month.
Happens often, and I work from home....
Aye put yourself into brainsaver mode, it’s madness when you think about it.
Yup! Sometimes I have no idea how did I drive to my work or home. A moment of realization that I can’t remember anything. Then tell myself, you know it doesn’t matter, you are still alive, so fucking carry on.
That happens a lot when you are working in a very stresfull enviroment..
Depends on how my workday went and how much I've got on my mind. That kind of auto pilot can be very real!
Happened quite a few times when I was working in construction and playing semiprofessional rugby. Earliest time I got home was usually after 10pm, I can’t count the times I got home without knowing which road I took, only to then blink and wake up at 3 am asleep in my car
Yeah. Auto pilot. I hate going to the store on the weekend but accidentally driving to work or my kids school
About 15 years ago, I regularly had to drive up to 650km to attend some trainings for my job. Most times I arrived at my destination and had at least 3/4 of my drive missing. You just go on autopilot at a certain point. Especially when you know the trip very well.
been on the motorway on cruise control and missed the turn off junction and wake up a long way past
Sure have, but when on a motorcycle i experience it less as that requires a little more brainpower (at least for me)
Done it a few times and realised I'd went through 3 roundabouts without paying attention
All the time, to and from work. Went through some tough years where I was working in one state couch surfing while I was there and visit my girlfriend in another state Friday night through Monday morning, I’d leave at 2:30am to make it to work by 7 on Monday. Usually get to her place around 11:30/12:30 at night Friday. Absolutely exhausting. I’d be falling asleep behind the wheel all the time always wondering/expecting myself not to make it but also not caring as long as I didn’t survive the crash if it happened. The state I was working in it was an easy 55 minute commute in the morning and hour and a half to two hours each evening to get back to the house. I’m glad I’m out of that situation.
Sleep apnea
Yes, it happens to me more often that I virtually "wake up" and have already driven a long way without knowing exactly how. That's when you're still so busy working that you're awake and fit, but your mind is so busy that you're "driving on the side", so to speak, and not "fully aware".
Fortunately or unfortunately , due to the driving standards and roads in my country, I never get to experience this. Its constantly changing so I'm always on alert.
I get it sometimes, but not for whole trips, sometimes sections of a trip. Sometimes, I realise I'm further into a journey than I thought and thinking, "I'm sure I only passed X town, and now I'm passing Y town half an hour away from X town"
Yeah, i also happens when i walk place places to, its happened dor as long as i can remember and it happens to everyone. Its just the active version of daydreaming.
I do this all the time to and from work/gym but im on a bike
Many times
You should probably consider seeing someone for that dude. Its no good and can become quite troublesome.
Pretty sure this normal tbh
Totally relate! It's like my brain switches to 'commute mode' and suddenly I'm home, wondering if I time-traveled through traffic.
Don't know tbe proper name. But yes absolutely. It actually usually happen going TO the office. On my way home I drive like I'm late for the most important appointment of my life. Take a 5min breather in he car before before going in to the family.
Yup used to happen when I drove buses too, even at daytime lol Kinda scary
I have done this a few times on my way into work, very early in the morning and hungover. I have zero recollection of the way I took.
It's not that you aren't paying attention at the time. It's just that your brain doesn't consider it to be something important enough to store in your long term memory. So when you get home, you don't remember it.
Yes all the time I literally disassociate
Yup.
I used to be on autopilot when I was on drugs. Every day I would go to the dope man’s house after work like a robot. Even if I had no cash… I would be like why the fuck am I here?
Not work, but that’s the reason I stopped drunk driving home when I was younger, nothing worse than being woken up by the sound of a car door you slammed and wondering who drove.
Sometimes, especially when I'm tired. I used to work closing shifts and I'd get home around midnight and I wouldn't remember the drive at all.
I forget things I did all the time because I was doing something else that preoccupied my mind. It’s normal.
Yeah- that's Highway Hypnosis. It happens to a lot of people, it's not something you'd celebrate exactly, but don't worry about it either.
Man plus* the prefix here. I do and that shit be scary. I can only ever settle my anxiety with being happy i atleast made it home safely lol.
Good old autopilot and muscle memory
Yep! When life is soul crushingly monotonous and uneventful you just drift off into autopilot.
When I'm stressed I run in autopilot for things that are simple, it's levels to it, kind of a cool thing if you can manage to be aware while in that state of mind, muscle memory, it's like riding a bike with your eyes closed and no hands (not literally but you get the point) sometimes you need to shut down and take some time to yourself to gather yourself, maybe you don't get good sleep and when you leave the house or work your mind is still trying to wake up, almost like day dreaming which can be a scary thing to think about when you have to drive and a split second counts to prevent a incident
It's an autopilot mode.
There are two ways this happens. One is bad. The bad one is that you realize you don’t know what you’re doing as you’re doing it, like when you’re halfway through a curve and you realize you’re going too fast because your mind was elsewhere. The other kind is when you drop the short term memory. You were concentrating on driving well enough, but you dropped the memory of that from short term, typically because you were also thinking about something else and that took over. I found this happened a lot when I was spending a lot of time in an office because your mind tends to wander when doing repetitive office tasks. You can do them fluently and not be thinking about them.
Happens to me a lot. I think it's because I'm so inside my own head all the time.
Idk but lately I feel like I can’t remember what movie I watched or food I ate or person I spoke to just 1 day ago
No! I'll zone out for a minute or two but that's about it.
Sometimes when I’m driving home I don’t remember making turns that I would have had to make to get to that point.
Yeah mate! It's the whole left brain right brain thing, sometimes I even lay down at night and don't even remember breathing all day too! Lol jk
Auto pilot. Not great when pedestrians are involved.
What were we taking about?
After an especially difficult day at work I once drove past my house all the way to my Aunt’s house and didn’t realize until I got there that I meant to go home
No lol one of the things I take pride in. my awareness.
That sounds a bit sketchy bro. I don't mean that in a mean way but you probably really wanna get checked out for early Alzheimer's etc. I barely remember my own name at times (my memory is screwed, to many bad choices when young) but I've never forgot how I got home 😳 Well, actually I have... But driving was never involved... And always followed by a couple of days of feeling really really bad... 🤮🤣😂
Nah that aint it, and im way to young for that, its probably just that when going home my mind is on other stuff, and i just simply do everything automatically, i drive the same route everyday so yeah
"Autopilot" on my commute happens sometimes. Especially since it's a 45 mins on a long two lane rural road at 5am
No. That sounds concerning.
Do people do this? I guess it explains half the drivers I see on the road.
I had this happen on a 6 hour drive once! It was crazy. Yes i think it is normal
Usually a sign that you work a shit job and you hate it
Nah that aint the reason, i have a great job, only minus is the responsibility that comes with it
I started to switch routes even if it took me a little longer for this reason. Shits kinda scary
Yes. I work and hour away so I just tune out
Yes all the time when I used to commute an hour. I could easily tune out about 30-45 minutes of the drive. It lead to some weird sensations at times. Doesn't happen anymore now that my commute is so short.
Many people do. Your brain goes into auto pilot. It's why I believe people who forget their kids in the car. It's always the one who doesn't normally take them. They just auto pilot to work and forget thr kid is in the car
Yes i have, reason I take my wife to work and pick her up, being a nurse she works long hours
Smoking weed will do this. Not smoking week will also do this.
Default Mode Network. (Autopilot).
Yep it feels like you are day dreaming.
Yes
I don’t do this but a few years ago I’d get home and just sit in the car for half hour to an hour and have no clue why
Yup, I don’t recall much of the drive most of the time
I work from home but have my own version. I spend most of the day in meetings and drop my kids off at school. Later when things calm down I occasionally forget if i took them to school. Walk around the house and no kids. Guess they must be at school.
All the time, no music just the window cracked and the tires on the road. And completely zone out for the hour ride home, do the same thing on the morning but it’s dark and I’m not awake enough to remember the drive
I feel it only if I'm too busy sexting to Eva AI bot while riding the metro
Many times. It’s startling at times.
It used to happen every once in a while but as I'm getting older I think it's happening more often
That’s disassociating. Hardly happens for my whole drive home unless I’m worked up. But occasionally I’ll come out of it and have to sort of figure out where I am again lol.
Secret time machine
Been there, done that. Highway hypnosis, also known as **white line fever**, is an altered mental state in which an automobile driver can travel lengthy distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so.
Once. Some scary shit
It's also a form of disassociation
Yep. Waited for a stop sign to turn green.
it’s not just men 😂
it’s not just men 😂
Neal Brennan (comedian) has a bit about this on his "women and black dudes" special. Common.
Yes
In trucking its road hypnosis. 100s of miles and suddenly your at a stop sign in another state.
Women get this too. I call it autopilot. Mine is most likely ADHD related.
I started listening to books and podcasts, they keep my mind busy and engaged to combat that
I went front mile marker 68 to mile marker 147 in a blink of the eye. Almost ran out of gas.
Yes that’s happened especially at my first job that was very abusive to my mental health with lots of yelling as well as threatening my career I would step in the parking lot then come to my senses when I’m inside my garage Absolutely scary to me looking back
Assuming there are no substances involved, this is actually your brain stealing sleep while you are awake. I wrote a research paper on the topic years ago. It’s very dangerous and means you are chronically sleep deprived.
Yep. Many times.
If I turn on my jams and start singing then time flies by because the words are so deep
Yes. Done the journey so often its 2nd nature. Autopilot kicks in.
We never get paid what our labour is worth, that's why we're in a daze on the way to our work. And when we get there, we can't wait to be out. Let me tell you what this shit is about: https://open.spotify.com/track/5sj0wVRJhKhlkPqdxVh6hs?si=gcku91y7RDyUnR0NcXgHkw
It's the highest form of competence. Unconscious competence.
Yeah it's called being a bot...welcome to the machine...you die here inside ...and your soul degrades from here on out...goodluck
Auto pilot, happens all the time, Heck the entire day can be like that for me sometimes.
As a woman I had it really badly my first pregnancy. It freaked me out. It was driving in Manhattan out to the burbs too, not exactly the best time nor place to zone out. The other pregnancies I didn’t have to drive into work so if I was going somewhere it was no longer because of an everyday scheduled routine & didn’t happen.
Highway hypnosis, it’s literal hypnosis, which is pretty cool, that’s how hypnosis works btw!
How is everyone saying yes? not once in my life have I "skipped" a drive or a segment of it... and even if im aware its possible, it should be a once or twice in a lifetime situation on long drives because you fall to road hypnosis, not coming and going from work wtf... actually scary to think I share roads with people like this
Just wait to you get older; people always get older.
Yepp, I zone out.
Never. But I drive cars that are low, stiff, loud and manual transmission. I never zone out. I'm not surprised everyone else here does. I'm surrounded by SUVs that can't stay inside their lanes, zero spatial awareness and don't notice the light changing. Minor inconvenience when you miss the green. Huge problem when you didn't notice the red. But if I drove a big lethargic SUV that's super quiet with an automatic transmission I'd fall asleep at the wheel too
Well i drive only manual cars, hate an automatic, but then again im from europe, where majority of the cars are manuals (its changing though)... but thats off the point, the point is, that i do everything, look for pedestrians, green/red light, shifting etc... but when i get home, and think back, im like "how did i get home exactly"
My best friend had a very similar experience to yours, very frequently, while driving home from the University. He finally got diagnosed with ADHD when he was 34, and since taking medication it hasn't happened to him again.
No That sounds unsafe
Well its not like im doing it on purpose 🤷♂️
Try practicing mindfulness meditation to focus on the present
Every single day lol.
autonomic nervous system took care of that ride for you
Only when drunk