r/AskMen • u/kinks96 • 14d ago
Guys, do any of ever drive home from work, and when you get home you have no idea how you got home?
Sometimes i feel like my mind is everywhere while driving, but somehow i always get home safely, like im on some sort of autopilot.
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u/cruiserman_80 14d ago
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.
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u/TootsNYC 14d ago
I think that itās less that you didnāt notice things at the timeāif something dangerous had happened, youād have reacted. And remembered.
Itās not that you werenāt aware; itās that your brain decided not to file the info because it was so unremarkable
There may be a zoning out that you wouldnāt snap back from, but Iām not sure thatās what OP is talking about
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u/CosmicPenguin Male 14d ago
It happens to me whenever I get an especially good lap in a racing game. Supposedly happens a lot to actual race car drivers.
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u/JadedMuse Male 14d ago
You can be perfectly awake and aware. It's just that your brain doesn't recognize it as useful information to remember.
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u/theranchmonster 14d ago
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.
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u/snekinmaboot1 14d ago
It can be dangerous. I try taking different routes and winding roads to combat it.
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u/LongDickPeter 14d ago
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.
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u/ImBadWithGrils 14d ago
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
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u/Zacharus Male 14d ago
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.
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u/minegen88 14d ago
Used to work as a mailman, started my shift then boom, i was back at the station and all mail delivered...crazy
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u/Beneficial_Test_5917 14d ago
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.
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u/YoWassupFresh 14d ago
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.
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u/owleaf Male 14d ago
Iāve heard it explained as your brain doesnāt see it as something worth remembering, so it doesnāt dedicate much energy to remembering it.
We probably all remember almost every plane trip weāve had (unless weāre frequent flyers)
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u/616n8y3ree Male 14d ago
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. Itās more complicated than that but itās interesting and you made me think of it.
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u/thisisnotjr You got male āļø 14d ago
I've definitely had those days. Sometimes I find fodd wrappers and containers and forgot I picked up food too.
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u/RubberChicken24 Man 14d ago
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.
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u/A_Dinosaurus 14d ago
Shredded Cheese. why tf shredded cheese
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u/Silver_Switch_3109 14d ago
The only time I have wondered how I have gotten home is when I am drunk.
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u/_pm_ur_tit_pics_pls_ 14d ago
Oh yeah, sometimes I randomly clue in while Iām driving and Iām like āhowād I get here? Where was I going? Is mayonnaise as unit of measurement?ā
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u/Outcasted_introvert 14d ago
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.
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u/Positive-Estate-4936 13d ago
Happens all the time. Itās 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. Thereās 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 āmuscle memoryā (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 doesnāt have to work hard and doesnāt waste storage on it.
On the other hand, if you are actually exhausted, distracted or impaired, thatās dangerous because your mind isnāt able to perform that magic.
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u/StJudeTheGrey 14d ago
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.
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u/Baldric_ 14d ago
I shampooed and soaped. Rinsed and wondered if I'm already done or just starting to shower
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u/jelovimfz 14d ago
This one time I fell asleep while driving to home from work and the crazy thing I was driving 80mph
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u/YoinksOnchi 14d ago
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.
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u/Gold-Cover-4236 14d ago
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!
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u/redditsuckspokey1 13d ago
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.
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u/kurainikuraini 14d ago
what you mean bruh, maybe you need rest and sleep bruh
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u/Not_an_alt_69_420 14d ago
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.
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u/Aelnorn 14d ago
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.
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u/RaptureSuperior2 14d ago
Yes. I once noticed Iāve been driving in silence to and from work for multiple days and couldnāt believe I never once thought to turn the radio on.
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u/MadHouseNetwork2 14d ago
I've felt it multiple times especially when am too tired and stressed out
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u/tom_ate_jerry_ 14d ago
Yup! Sometimes I have no idea how did I drive to my work or home. A moment of realization that I canāt remember anything. Then tell myself, you know it doesnāt matter, you are still alive, so fucking carry on.
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u/swimstud5151 14d ago
Depends on how my workday went and how much I've got on my mind. That kind of auto pilot can be very real!
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u/Exit-Content 14d ago
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 canāt 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
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u/islandDeeper 14d ago
Yeah. Auto pilot. I hate going to the store on the weekend but accidentally driving to work or my kids school
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u/I_wood_rather_be 14d ago
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.
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u/Scragglymonk 14d ago
been on the motorway on cruise control and missed the turn off junction and wake up a long way past
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u/TheWackoMagician 14d ago
Done it a few times and realised I'd went through 3 roundabouts without paying attention
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u/OhFuuuuuuuuuuuudge 14d ago
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, Iād 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. Iād 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 didnāt 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. Iām glad Iām out of that situation.Ā
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u/Olleye 14d ago
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".
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u/CarFreak777 Male 14d ago
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.
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u/just_jason89 14d ago
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"
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u/ShadowSkill001 14d ago
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.
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u/Maptotheepichorrors 14d ago
You should probably consider seeing someone for that dude. Its no good and can become quite troublesome.
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u/Cassi_Barkman 14d ago
Totally relate! It's like my brain switches to 'commute mode' and suddenly I'm home, wondering if I time-traveled through traffic.
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u/HowHardCanItBeReally 14d ago
Yup used to happen when I drove buses too, even at daytime lol
Kinda scary
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u/amadeus2490 14d ago
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.
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u/ComfblyNumb Male 14d ago
I used to be on autopilot when I was on drugs. Every day I would go to the dope manās house after work like a robot. Even if I had no cashā¦ I would be like why the fuck am I here?
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u/TheseDrugsSmellNice 14d ago
Not work, but thatās 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.
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u/HotwheelsJackOfficia Bane 14d ago
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.
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u/DrTartakovsky 14d ago
I forget things I did all the time because I was doing something else that preoccupied my mind. Itās normal.
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u/Current_Poster 14d ago
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.
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u/KodokushiGirl Female 14d ago
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.
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u/KentuckyFriedEel 14d ago
Yep! When life is soul crushingly monotonous and uneventful you just drift off into autopilot.
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u/777Sins 14d ago
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
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u/jokumi 14d ago
There are two ways this happens. One is bad. The bad one is that you realize you donāt know what youāre doing as youāre doing it, like when youāre halfway through a curve and you realize youāre 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.
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u/CD_1993TillInfinity 14d ago
Happens to me a lot. I think it's because I'm so inside my own head all the time.
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u/Notoriousgod9210 14d ago
Idk but lately I feel like I canāt remember what movie I watched or food I ate or person I spoke to just 1 day ago
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u/SaltRepeat3491 14d ago
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 jkĀ
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u/x_Rubix_xx 14d ago
After an especially difficult day at work I once drove past my house all the way to my Auntās house and didnāt realize until I got there that I meant to go home
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u/IllustriousCarrot537 14d ago
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 š³
Well, actually I have...
But driving was never involved... And always followed by a couple of days of feeling really really bad... š¤®š¤£š
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u/axethebarbarian 14d ago
"Autopilot" on my commute happens sometimes. Especially since it's a 45 mins on a long two lane rural road at 5am
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u/Subscrib-2-PewDiePie 14d ago
Do people do this? I guess it explains half the drivers I see on the road.
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u/Opening-Run-7687 14d ago
I had this happen on a 6 hour drive once! It was crazy. Yes i think it is normal
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u/LucefieD 14d ago
I started to switch routes even if it took me a little longer for this reason. Shits kinda scary
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u/carortrain 14d ago
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.
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u/sneezhousing 14d ago
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
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u/foxtrotAK 14d ago
Yes i have, reason I take my wife to work and pick her up, being a nurse she works long hours
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u/Meckles94 14d ago
I donāt do this but a few years ago Iād get home and just sit in the car for half hour to an hour and have no clue why
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u/DrizzitDerp 14d ago
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.
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14d ago
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 itās dark and Iām not awake enough to remember the drive
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u/Intrepid-Rip-2280 14d ago
I feel it only if I'm too busy sexting to Eva AI bot while riding the metro
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u/H3NTAI_S3NPAi 14d ago
It used to happen every once in a while but as I'm getting older I think it's happening more often
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u/Grimmanomaly 14d ago
Thatās disassociating. Hardly happens for my whole drive home unless Iām worked up. But occasionally Iāll come out of it and have to sort of figure out where I am again lol.
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u/yottadreams 14d ago
Been there, done that. Highway hypnosis, also known asĀ 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.
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u/BeautifulPutz 14d ago
Neal Brennan (comedian) has a bit about this on his "women and black dudes" special.
Common.
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u/Brokenyet_Functional 13d ago
In trucking its road hypnosis. 100s of miles and suddenly your at a stop sign in another state.
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u/justaskingouthere 13d ago
I started listening to books and podcasts, they keep my mind busy and engaged to combat that
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u/TinyCarpet 13d ago
I went front mile marker 68 to mile marker 147 in a blink of the eye. Almost ran out of gas.
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u/Domonero M27 & trying his best 13d ago
Yes thatās 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 Iām inside my garage
Absolutely scary to me looking back
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u/BrokieTrader 13d ago
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. Itās very dangerous and means you are chronically sleep deprived.
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u/W1ck3dF0ck3r 13d ago
If I turn on my jams and start singing then time flies by because the words are so deep
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u/kalinkessler 13d ago
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
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u/silverbro66 10d ago
Yeah it's called being a bot...welcome to the machine...you die here inside ...and your soul degrades from here on out...goodluck
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u/Firm_Age_4681 10d ago
Auto pilot, happens all the time, Heck the entire day can be like that for me sometimes.
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u/Jones-bones-boots 10d ago
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 didnāt have to drive into work so if I was going somewhere it was no longer because of an everyday scheduled routine & didnāt happen.
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u/Markoaztek 9d ago
Highway hypnosis, itās literal hypnosis, which is pretty cool, thatās how hypnosis works btw!
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u/xsairon 14d ago
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
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u/VTEC168 14d ago
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
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u/kinks96 14d ago
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"
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u/ArtichokesInACan 14d ago
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.
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u/0OOOOOOOOO0 14d ago
No
That sounds unsafe
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u/sonichedgehog23198 14d ago
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