This is just Highway hypnosisand it's a perfectly normal and safe phenomenon. Where your mind just runs a background process but is still alert for sudden changes. I can drive quite literally miles without registering a thing but if something out of the ordinary happens, everything kicks into high gear and background process becomes a full blown front and center program that takes all my focus.
I believe in fuck cars too, but pick your battles.
I have also experienced this, I was driving home on an 18 lane major highway in Ontario every night and would get home with no memory of the entire drive.
On the other hand I also had severe untreated sleep apnea at the time so I would say that highway hypnosis might mask other disorders that are actually very dangerous.
I wonder how this works for neurodivergent people. I’m thinking specifically of task switching issues, autistic inertia, and memory issues. Seems like it could be a huge issue, especially if under diagnosed.
That's how our brain works. We don't remember every detail from our walks either. Repeated actions get less cognitive power. I hate driving, but if it's going smoothly sometimes I get thus, but when the traffic is bad, people are changing lanes a lot and you have to accelerate and break frequently, then you need to be actively present.
Yes, that's probably it. However, I have real problems with the attitude of some that it is totally ok to listen to music and deafening volume levels that you can't hear anything at all from outside, not even honking. That is making driving considerably more dangerous, to everyone else.
I've seen people claim that cyclists with earbuds in are a menace, when I know for a fact that they listen to loud music in their modern extremely insulated luxury SUV with shit visibility.
You say "casually admitted" as if this were an individual failing and not a shared experience amongst everyone who has ever driven regularly.
Back when I drove, I would regularly forget my entire commute because I'd already made it hundreds of times before and my brain just stopped committing any of it to memory.
that doesn't change the fact that it's a fucked up phenomenon.
"haha yeah isn't it funny that people operating 3-ton machines going 80km/h do so in a fugue state, so quirky :)"
This happens to professionals in any line of work. And generally to people doing repetitive work a lot.
In normal circumstances it's perfectly safe, until it's not because of an unpredictable situation.
Not really. Follow the car in front, stop for red, wait for green, check mirror. You could make an algorithm for 99% of the interactions that happen, at least in Danish cities. But if you live in a city with almost no bike infrastructure and visit a city with bike lanes everywhere, it isn't part of your "learned automation" to check the bike lane before turning. And it is usually worse if the place is "familiar enough" since you need that familiarity for the "automation" to kick in.
You could make an algorithm for 99% of the interactions that happen
Absolutely. But you still have to be actively paying attention to watch for the 1% that isn't predictable. It's like flying a plane; autopilot systems are theoretically advanced enough to complete an entire flight all by themselves, but the pilot at the controls is still expected to be fully alert and active at all times.
That's the problem: it's a limitation of the human brain, not a moral falling. We can't give total attention when bored, which is why having cars as the primary mode of daily transport is an absolutely awful idea.
Couldn't agree more, I'm just arguing that city traffic can still be predictable enough to inadvertently trigger that "automation" mode. As with my example the car would risk torpedoing a cyclist when turning. That's something I'm acutely aware of when biking and I know exactly which turns are the most dangerous in my city.
When biking, my autonomous activities are turned off. I become hyper-aware because I'm an American and I know that my value has gone down 90% just by hopping on a bike instead of a big truck.
22 replies
This is just Highway hypnosisand it's a perfectly normal and safe phenomenon. Where your mind just runs a background process but is still alert for sudden changes. I can drive quite literally miles without registering a thing but if something out of the ordinary happens, everything kicks into high gear and background process becomes a full blown front and center program that takes all my focus.
I believe in fuck cars too, but pick your battles.
OOP isn't driving on a highway. This is Indian city traffic they're talking about.
I have also experienced this, I was driving home on an 18 lane major highway in Ontario every night and would get home with no memory of the entire drive.
On the other hand I also had severe untreated sleep apnea at the time so I would say that highway hypnosis might mask other disorders that are actually very dangerous.
I wonder how this works for neurodivergent people. I’m thinking specifically of task switching issues, autistic inertia, and memory issues. Seems like it could be a huge issue, especially if under diagnosed.
I worked an hour drive from my house and have driven home almost completely several times with no memory of.the drive.
That's how our brain works. We don't remember every detail from our walks either. Repeated actions get less cognitive power. I hate driving, but if it's going smoothly sometimes I get thus, but when the traffic is bad, people are changing lanes a lot and you have to accelerate and break frequently, then you need to be actively present.
Yes, that's probably it. However, I have real problems with the attitude of some that it is totally ok to listen to music and deafening volume levels that you can't hear anything at all from outside, not even honking. That is making driving considerably more dangerous, to everyone else.
I've seen people claim that cyclists with earbuds in are a menace, when I know for a fact that they listen to loud music in their modern extremely insulated luxury SUV with shit visibility.
yes, the cyclists are the menace here...
I agree with this, also never been comfortable listening to headphones on a walk or biking for the same reason.
I was thinking the same thing but landed at opposite conclusions.
It’s completely normal which is why humans shouldn’t be driving.
Computer controlled public transport is the future. Humans aren’t designed to operate vehicles. We suck at it.
You say "casually admitted" as if this were an individual failing and not a shared experience amongst everyone who has ever driven regularly.
Back when I drove, I would regularly forget my entire commute because I'd already made it hundreds of times before and my brain just stopped committing any of it to memory.
that doesn't change the fact that it's a fucked up phenomenon.
"haha yeah isn't it funny that people operating 3-ton machines going 80km/h do so in a fugue state, so quirky :)"
It's not a fugue state. It's just so utterly rote and mundane that your brain doesn't bother committing it to memory.
It happens with everything. Your brain doesnt record the same thing 10000 times, it sets autopilot and snaps back if something changes.
Literally nobody has that attitude here. Not OP, not the person who wrote that post, none of the comments.
This happens to professionals in any line of work. And generally to people doing repetitive work a lot. In normal circumstances it's perfectly safe, until it's not because of an unpredictable situation.
Japanese railways use a technique called point-and-call to deal with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZun7IvqMvE
Which driving in city traffic usually is, I would think
Not really. Follow the car in front, stop for red, wait for green, check mirror. You could make an algorithm for 99% of the interactions that happen, at least in Danish cities. But if you live in a city with almost no bike infrastructure and visit a city with bike lanes everywhere, it isn't part of your "learned automation" to check the bike lane before turning. And it is usually worse if the place is "familiar enough" since you need that familiarity for the "automation" to kick in.
Absolutely. But you still have to be actively paying attention to watch for the 1% that isn't predictable. It's like flying a plane; autopilot systems are theoretically advanced enough to complete an entire flight all by themselves, but the pilot at the controls is still expected to be fully alert and active at all times.
That's the problem: it's a limitation of the human brain, not a moral falling. We can't give total attention when bored, which is why having cars as the primary mode of daily transport is an absolutely awful idea.
Couldn't agree more, I'm just arguing that city traffic can still be predictable enough to inadvertently trigger that "automation" mode. As with my example the car would risk torpedoing a cyclist when turning. That's something I'm acutely aware of when biking and I know exactly which turns are the most dangerous in my city.
When biking, my autonomous activities are turned off. I become hyper-aware because I'm an American and I know that my value has gone down 90% just by hopping on a bike instead of a big truck.