Long Distance Runaround

It's going to be a long drive over a Long and Winding Road! Some of it at night because you will be driving; in excess of  six hundred miles. Equipment you might want  to take along for the long ride are a radar detector and a CB radio.  But there are driving skills too that will help you along the way. For instance after being on the road for several hours and daylight turns to dusk and traffic has thinned out to just you and the lonely road; I would start looking for a pace car or truck to follow. The pace car or truck will help you to keep a steady pace and by concentrating on them this will also help you stay alert.  Using your car's cruise control is okay but over the long haul following behind someone else is much better. Following someone forces you to make constant speed adjustments just to stay the right three or four car lengths distance behind them and this speed adjustment activity keeps you more alert. Sometimes I prefer choosing big trucks over cars as my pace car; because professional truck drivers do a much better job of keeping up a steady speed than most car drivers do. Sometimes I do get lucky and find a good highway driver in a car and they will do just fine. 

When following behind a big truck it is courteous and much safer to keep your distance so  that they can see you in their rear view mirrors. When following another car and it's nighttime, it is also courteous to stay back far enough to keep your headlights from blinding them in their rear view mirrors.  Another thing about truckers that I appreciate is that they will warn you  about upcoming speed traps. They can do so by tapping on their brakes and slowing down so that I'll know to slow down right along with them.  I've even had a trucker stick his arm out from his cab window and pat the air to signal me to slow down while I was passing him and sure enough there was a 'Smokey' up ahead.  I appreciated that the trucker was keeping the front door open for me so that I wouldn't get pulled over and bitten by a bear.

If my pace truck turns off or is driving too slow I'll go ahead and pass him and find another to follow. And yes, sometimes I am the pace car that somebody else is following; no problem, I'll lead on I've got this! And did I mention that having a car stereo is essential? Or at least earbuds plugged into something. Music like, Long Distance Runaround will definitely keep you alert and help you to pass the time on the road. Sometimes while driving long distance I want my mind to drift....to some cool music  and be on autopilot, if you know what I mean. An old favorite mind freeing and beautiful jazz cut that I love to drive by is; Joe Thomas' "Coco,"; which  just happened to be on  my California road trip playlist from 1977.

Pacific Ocean view from my 75 Dodge Street Van window (circa 1977) No doubt I had the stereo on laying down some tracks as I cruised along the Pacific Coast highway.