Am I Mentally Ready to Drive?

Am I mentally ready to drive? Yogi Berra, one of the former great New York Yankee catchers, said it best about baseball: “Baseball is ninety percent mental; the other half is physical.” Many look at this quote as baseball is ninety percent mental and ten percent physical. The same concept about baseball easily applies to driving. Driving is ninety percent mental and ten percent physical. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and must not be taken lightly. We must be educated, responsible, and mentally ready to face daily driving challenges. Driving and making poor choices can easily lead to tickets, injury, or even loss of life.

Drivers need to be educated on the safe operations of driving a vehicle. We learn to drive from different avenues from a driving school, parents or friends, self-taught, or from a young age driving farm equipment. From a young age, we observe and watch those who drive us before we must study and take a written test to get our permit. Then comes that exciting moment of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle to go in circles in a parking lot, getting the feel of the accelerator and the brake, and keeping both hands on the steering wheel. Next, we enter the open roadway with other vehicles and a licensed driver as we process all the vital things around us. Here we learn to judge and predict what will happen in traffic and avoid scaring the licensed driver in the car. There are new road signs to learn, understand the use of mirrors, keep one’s eyes moving, and look ahead. We are mentally preparing for the road test we must pass to obtain our driver’s license.

Once the driver’s license is in hand, there is a sense of gratification and independence. You can drive yourself, go to the movies, hang out with friends, go on road trips, get to work, or even have a career in driving commercial vehicles. With this independence comes accountability and responsibility. Keeping up with the maintenance of a vehicle, holding insurance just in case something happens, obeying the laws of the road, and doing what is right. As new drivers, we often want to push the limits and test the boundaries of our vehicles. Actions such as speeding, running yellow and red lights, and passing on a double yellow, can lead to consequences such as tickets from a police officer, injury, and death.

When we are driving, distractions are all around. Technology like cell phones is a great tool, but are we connected too much? Cell phones can be a distraction when we drive. We are automatically prone to look at our phones when the notification pings or the screen lights up to let us know we have a new message or an incoming call. Vehicle technology allows our phones to connect the cell phone to the vehicle with voice commands so we can focus on the road, but it still can be a distraction. Laws are in place to help drivers not be distracted when driving, but drivers are still texting and driving, holding their phones as they talk, and even face timing or creating social media videos.

It only takes a second of our eyes being off the road for something critical to happen. We, as humans, can only react so quickly when a problem is perceived. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHSTA), a typical reaction time to a perceived threat takes three-quarters of a second and another three-quarters of a second to move your foot to the brake for a total of one and a half seconds (NHSTA, 2015). This one-and-a-half second does not include variables such as speed and road conditions. Making a mental mistake by taking our eyes off the road can lead to precious seconds lost to be able to react to a perceived threat.

Choices outside of driving a car can hinder our ability to drive safely. When people decide to drink or do drugs, this will limit their mental capacity and reaction time to deal with the different variables happening around them as they drive. According to NHSTA, about thirty percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher. Eleven thousand six hundred fifty-four people died in 2020; on average, from 2011-2020, about 10,500 died yearly due to drunk driving accidents (NHSTA, n.d.). Drugged driving is a term used for individuals driving under the influence of drugs. These drugs can be illicit drugs or misused prescription drugs. A survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse published in 2018 said 12.6 million drove under the influence of illicit drugs (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2019). One must be accountable and responsible before choosing to drink or do drugs. Make sure to have a safe ride home, designate someone non-drinking friend to drive, do not have car keys, and know your limits. Planning will save lives.

Our health plays a vital role in mentally being able to drive. Health conditions such as vision, hearing, neurological, and sleep disorders can limit our driving ability. Talking with your doctor to ensure you understand the condition you may have and deciding with your doctor if you are safe to drive is vital. As we age, we must be in tune with how our bodies change. Making sure we are comfortable and safe being behind the wheel. It will not be fun to step away from the independence of driving, but it will be the right thing to do for yourself and others on the road.

During my career in passenger and school bus transportation, I have had the privilege of helping and overseeing people get their commercial driver’s license. Teaching people they need to care for themselves is of the utmost importance. They are eating right, getting enough sleep, taking care of medical conditions immediately, and being mentally prepared to be on the road. Too often, we let the stress of daily life get to us, affecting our sleep. Not getting enough sleep will lead to drowsiness and fatigue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in twenty-five adult drivers reported falling asleep while driving, and many more admitted to being sleep-deprived behind the wheel (National Safety Council, n.d.). Drowsy driving may not be the same as drunk driving, but it does affect our mental ability to drive safely. According to the Sleep Foundation, being awake for twenty hours, drowsy drivers are impaired and can be equivalent to blowing a .08 blood alcohol content (Danielle Pacheco, 2022).

Commercial drivers must follow hours of service rules set by the Federal Government to have eight or ten hours off between shifts with bed rest. The eight hours are for passenger-carrying vehicles, and the ten hours are for cargo-carrying vehicles. When commercial drivers do not follow this, they are in violation and should report it immediately. Sadly, I have seen when a driver does not take these rules seriously, and their mental judgment is impaired.

One early morning, the company I worked for got a report that we had a forty-five-foot motor coach that had gone off the road. Emergency response was on the way, and at the scene, they found the motor coach on its side, the driver with a seat belt on still in the seat and their foot caught behind the steering column, and the driver with no recollection of what happened. Luckily, there were not any guests on board the motor coach. The driver only had minor scratches and bruises, but the motor coach was a total loss. After the investigation, the driver had been out all night and got two hours of sleep. This driver did not get the proper amount of rest, did not communicate about needing more rest and needed to be more mentally ready for the day of driving.

Just like the game of baseball, according to Yogi Berra, driving is ninety percent mental. Before we get behind the wheel of a car, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I mentally ready to drive?” Driving is a privilege that creates independence and a sense of adventure. We will push the limits, which can lead to consequences, injury, and even death. Being accountable, educated, responsible, and safe driving a vehicle can save lives. Making wise choices and being honest about our health will help us be mentally ready to drive. Having the confidence and knowing I am making the right choices, I can say yes, “I am mentally ready to drive,” for the safety of all on the road.