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Lets think other way. We can not ask people who died in accidents why car crash happened. Who knows, maybe some driver was sleepy… the other one was talking over a cellphone… someone has chocked while eating… someone just wanted to kiss his beloved one but was rejected. These little and many other little things dramatically reduce reaction time. Think about it.

All right, lets move on. So far you learned that your reaction is one of the most important assets. And in cooperation with concentration while driving, it will always guarantee you the safe arrival to your point of destination.

Now I want to share with you some simple tips I use to keep concentrated and remain sharp reaction driving long distances.

If it’s possible always try to make short stops after about 80-90 minutes of continuous drive. Try not to get rested but to keep fit and alert. How you can do it? Simple!

If you are hungry and want to grab a hamburger, a sand witch or some heavy hot meal, then stop and do not do this. Really. Instead of it, take a big portion of green salad and eat it in peace and quietness. Alternatively, you may eat any of fresh fruits apples, peas, orange, bananas, etc.

Why? You don’t need calories to drive a car, but your body needs vitamins minerals and tissue to keep you fit, not sleepy. Those minerals your body will absorb from salad or fruits, not from hamburger or stake or everything similar to this.

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Heavy food makes you sleepy and your concentration ceases. Because when food reaches your stomach, your brain then redirects blood flows from other parts of body ( also from brain as well) to stomach to keep the nutrients delivered to cells. Salad portion instead, is very light food, rich of vitamins and minerals so needed for good driving concentration and reaction.

If you can’t live without coffee and piece of tasty pie, replace the latter with… a banana. The coffee stimulates your brain but banana will not overload your stomach like a piece of pie.

Now, after you have eaten your meal take a walk. Yes! Just walk. A quarter of mile is just perfect for your body to keep it fit. Running that quarter of mile is even more better than a walk.

You see, your body, whatever age it is, needs movement! You drive you sit. You eat you sit. Your body is not designed to sit sit and sit. It must move. Therefore, take a walk or run. Ok, after you have eaten your salad, took a walk or a run, you now can continue your trip. Believe me, you will feel much better, more vital and…

More Concentrated!

BUT. If your time is short and you can not stop for a pause, there’s another handy tip. Again eat very moderately before your departure and take with your trip a bottle of plain drinking water and… a chocolate.

Not some chocolate. No, my friend. Take with you black bitter chocolate, that contains minimum 80% of cacao, actually, the more cacao, the better.

Buy black chocolate, take it out off package and break it to small pieces. Put those pieces somewhere around driver’s seat, that you can later easy and effortlessly reach them.

Pieces of chocolate you should eat like a candy. A piece an hour and drink with a little water. Eating of black chocolate in combination with plain drinking water will keep your concentration on top level for almost all day long. You will not feel much tired as usual.

But that’s not all. I promised you to give a tip on how to improve your reaction. And here I stand my word. If you really want to improve your reaction – start playing table tennis. NOT computer game, no, my friend, but real table tennis.

You should have to play twice a week and devote an hour for each game. If you will keep playing this simple and funny sports game continuously for 3 months, your reaction will dramatically improve.

I can not say how percent, but I can assure you in three months you will notice more alert reaction and better overall physical well being. You will react much faster to everything happens on roads and your driving quality will greatly improve as well.

Actually the scope of safe and attentive driving is so wide, that I am in doubt I even scratched the surface of it. Safe driving has many rules, not just those of traffic. The human factor always plays the number one role.

Driving experience is also one of the best assets. But remember it’s also very important how you feel in your car, how familiar you are with character of your car. Technical condition of your car is very important factor as well. And having in your personal possession good reaction and concentration is essential.

And couple of paragraphs about the speed. I wrote in my letter that BMW Five is best car on the globe a human can drive. And I swear my words it’s true. I also mentioned, that while driving BMW Five at 120mph you, driver, will feel unbelievable intimacy between you and your beauty, sorry, BMW Five, that’s also true.

Once in my life I drove 254 km/h (that’s approx. 156 mph) on one of the German highways 2 years ago. The car was 2002 M5, almost new. The alignment, the intimacy on this speed with M5 gets even closer. You really really feel like a king. And BMW’s V8 engine on this speed still plays you Mozart…

But in my daily life I never drive faster than 120mph if I am on Germany’s highway and 75mph in other country of Europe. The speed of 120mph requires absolute concentration and top reaction. A lost 1/100th fraction of second ‘cruising’ this speed can cost life of a driver of the car and probably tens of others.

I hope you have learned some valuable tips about safe driving.

Drive safely

Algis

P.S.     The driver who made accident in January 2009 was me. I think, the last 59 miles of the road I drove should had to be closed, because it was impossible to drive at all. Further on the way home I counted more than 15 cars ‘landed’ in the ditches just like mine. It was terrible to drive. The road’s surface was frozen, iced. Plus heavy snowing and strong side wind…

Best winter tires with all ASC, ABS, EES and similar s@#$t didn’t help for any car. New and used vehicles were swept away off road like sea umbrellas in a storm. But I am happy that all is history, is past. I still think that I myself did not reacted properly. The speed I drove was 40 mph. Lithuanian traffic police charged me 15 EUR for being guilty and causing the accident…

P.P.S. To get a clearer picture about traffic accidents read this article and look at the picture on the top of it. Click here.

Drive carefully

Algis

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