# Passing time on a motorway - what do you do?



## Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

When you're on a motorway/autovia/autoroute at 100 kmh for hour after hour, when you're on a mission to get somewhere, it can get pretty boring.
How do you pass the time?
We play 'spot the song'. I have over 2000 songs on my ipod, and we take it in turns to name the song and the artist before anyone starts singing. I always seem to get asked the really tip of the tongue ones when I'm trying to overtake a lorry in France!  
What do you do :?: 

Brian


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

On a trip down to Spain several years ago my brother in law and me started a game of putting famous women into boxes...
We said names and had to select. "in" box, "out" box and a "maybe"..

Was a great game for several miles... However the 2 wives sat in the rear did not appreciate it !!!!
But they got their own back by doing their own version... :lol:


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## Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

You're very brave - are you still married? :lol: 
I don't think I would still be!! :evil:


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

Cervantes said:


> You're very brave - are you still married? :lol:
> I don't think I would still be!! :evil:


Yes.. ! 36 years last week... and still have all body parts...
The women were worse than us !!


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## mike-n-helen (Aug 26, 2013)

We play the "Alphabet" game, introduced to me by the wife, I'd never heard of it before. Select a topic e.g. capital cities and then take it in turns to name a city with the letter A then B etc... the first person who can't answer is the loser...  

Hours of fun......

Mike n Helen


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

I don't use boring motorways, what's the rush, never boring on ordinary roads, always something to catch the eye.

tony


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## Lesleykh (Apr 13, 2009)

We play - how many songs can you name with a particular word in the title - like fire, sun, shoes, an animal. Rob generally wins.

The other game we play is - he drives, while I sleep, or I drive while he sleeps, though I do seem to win that game more.

Lesley


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Audiobooks. We get through several books per holiday. The local library is always good for them via their online services and I've got a vast number of CDs built up over the years. We don't like abridged ones so they last a reasonable time each.

The snag is that I use certain books to help me sleep each night and I have to be careful not to listen to them while driving as they have a hypnotic effect.

G


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Errrrrr.............................. concentrate on driving?


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## Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

Only need to at complicated junctions or when passing HGV's


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Cervantes said:


> Only need to at complicated junctions or when passing HGV's


Really :?


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## VanFlair (Nov 21, 2009)

On some of the French Peage we play spot the other car.

And then after a few minutes (10) of not seeing anybody else we play OH sh1t are we on the right carriageway.

Martin


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

When we used to holiday with my Brother-In-Law and his wife. We used to play mucky, sometimes filthy registration plates. This was based on the three Letters. So......

A mucky one might be.........

W977BBV

the BBV might be "buxom blonde virgin"

A filthy one might be

M69HOS (use your imagination!)

Simple game for simple people. The one who got the hysterical laughs won.

I lost all the time :wink: 

TM


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

Stanner said:


> Errrrrr.............................. concentrate on driving?


And navigating!


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## sqeek (Nov 25, 2007)

Similar to Teemyob
Last three letters to describe the driver in front.

Nasty and then nice. Find that the nice is harder than the nasty.


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Lesleykh said:


> .................
> The other game we play is - he drives, while I sleep..............
> 
> Lesley


 :lol:

That's the game we play as well,I will say ''look at the beautiful mountains''only to turn and look at mrs wakk doing a fair impression of a corpse slumped in the passenger seat. :lol:

I'm surprised I haven't been pulled over by the gendarmes after someone has reported me for doing away with her and driving around France with a body in the passenger seat.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I spend most of my time looking where I'm going, checking my mirrors, checking the dash, you know driving, anything else is not only stupid it's dangerous if it distracts you from the reason you're there IE driving


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## kaacee (Nov 29, 2008)

Stanner said:


> Errrrrr.............................. concentrate on driving?


Exactly.............Lack of concentration accounts for the vast majority of accidents.

Keith


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Cervantes said:


> Only need to at complicated junctions or when passing HGV's


Would you be so kind as to put a large sign on the back of your van telling everyone that you're playing stupid games while driving, so the rest of us who actually are driving can give you a wide berth, as you may not be concerned with your safety, but I am with mine and the other sensible road users.

As the driver YOU are supposed to be the responsible one, try to drive like you are, and be constantly aware of your surroundings, position on the road and you should always know what's behind and to the sides, that's why it's called driving and not farting about.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Seems odd to me that folks have so much spare time while driving, I always find myself pretty much occupied with traffic, routeing, sat nav, occasionally checking the gauges and trailer if connected and so on, plus planning next stop for gas.

It may be that I'm down on brain power, which wouldn't surprise me, but as I have often told our boys, if you find driving easy, you're probably missing something that you should be doing better than you are now.

I rarely have the radio or CD player on either, unless there is a traffic issue and I need to know what's going on ahead. 

Peter


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## prog54 (Nov 22, 2010)

I generally find that after about 20 miles on a motorway I'm tired so I'll nod off for a few minutes and when I wake the road seems refreshingly better :wink: 
Does always seem a lot of accidents on these roads though so I might avoid motorways in future. 8O


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

You can concentrate on driving and do lots of other things like read your paperwork for the next visit, smoke a ***, drink tea from a crock mug. eat sarnies or a big mac and fries and drive one handed with a phone in the other..all at the same time no problem  

Me and the missus usually pass the time arguing which makes the journeys pass a lot quicker.


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

mike-n-helen said:


> We play the "Alphabet" game, introduced to me by the wife, I'd never heard of it before. Select a topic e.g. capital cities and then take it in turns to name a city with the letter A then B etc... the first person who can't answer is the loser...
> 
> Hours of fun......
> 
> Mike n Helen


We called this 'the ministers cat' names, places adjectives verbs, through the alphabet. However my son's favourite was to identify lorry makes from the back, their dad was a wagon driver and they were amazing at it, surprising him often, needless to say I was pretty useless so had to be adjudicator.
Introduced my grandchildren to the ministers cat, which they love even played it one night with 3 female friends when we were away in the van, was hilarious after a few drinks.
If I am driving John sleeps, if John is driving I watch the road signs so I can shout NO when he is about to turn onto a road with a height/weight restriction. :roll:

sue
p.s. for those possibly concerned, my friends and I were on a camp site when playing said game after a drink, others played to entertain children on long journeys. Agree one must concentrate on the driving, but I usually talk with my passengers, no less a 'distraction' than playing a word game. certainly would not do it in a heavy traffic situation, have been known to turn the radio off if i feel might distract in some situations.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Like most people with modest brain power I find that I can blank out the radio or the conversation when the need arises and drive safely even when talking or listening. I can only cite 51 years of totally accident -free driving over most of Europe, most of southern, central and eastern Africa and much of the USA ( including 2 coast to coast drives) as well as a daily commute along a pretty awful country road when working. 

G


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

We mainly listen, via the MH stereo, to podcasts and audio books that we've previously downloaded onto our smartphones.

There is a huge range of such things available for free now, and smartphones have enormous storage capacities now, especially if you add a 32GB or even 64GB micro SD card.

We've recently been wading through a whole load of old Desert Island disks progs from the BBC's free back-catalogue that we've selected to download .....perhaps surprisingly they've been providing VERY good entertainment.


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## Scattycat (Mar 29, 2011)

Normally I concentrate on my driving by looking ahead and observing what's happening in front of me and planning what action I need to take to pass slower vehicles or breakdowns and navigate around road-works, potholes or debris in the road, taking care at intersections to make sure no prat runs into me when they are joining the motorway without checking that they have space to do so, while at the same time keeping an eye via my mirrors as to what's happening behind me.

Blimey, I don't have time to get bored  :roll:


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## VJP (Dec 8, 2010)

You could try a couple of truck driver games.

1. Close your eyes for as long as you dare.
2. Touch cab. This is where you set the cruise control and keeping one hand on the steering wheel move around the cab touching as much of it as you can.
3. This works best if travelling in convoy, set the cruise control as before, move behind the driver's seat holding on to the lower section of the steering wheel so as the next truck passes it appears that no one is driving the truck.
4. Watch tv.
5. Use mobile phone.
6. Eat a meal using knife and fork.
7. Have an act done on ones person.
8. Read a book/magazine - see point 7
There are simply endless ways to entertain yourself.

And before anyone starts, NO I have not done any of the above nor do I recommend them, but have a think as you pass a truck on a European motorway, they might be. Scary isn't it.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

VJP said:


> 4. Watch tv.


Or 4. Watch DVD whilst performing an act on yourself.


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## bertieburstner (May 1, 2005)

we are sad gits and play spot the motorhome. The idea is to guess the number of motorhome coming the other way over a set distance ie the next intersection or amount of miles we are on the motorway. We have to commit to a number before we join and the one closest wins. Panel vans and horseboxes are not allowed, only coachbuilts A classes and RV's.
Yes it's sad.

PS yes I can do this safely whilst driving I have a brain and eyes.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

bertieburstner said:


> we are sad gits and play spot the motorhome. The idea is to guess the number of motorhome coming the other way over a set distance ie the next intersection or amount of miles we are on the motorway. We have to commit to a number before we join and the one closest wins. Panel vans and horseboxes are not allowed, only coachbuilts A classes and RV's.
> Yes it's sad.
> 
> PS yes I can do this safely whilst driving I have a brain and eyes.


The difference is that your game involves keeping an eye on the traffic, not worrying about who your wife wants in her box. :wink:


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

HI.

I spend all my time wishing I could could make the journey come to an end.........

I keep saying to myself.. "Am I there yet, am I there yet"...I. never am and there are more boring miles to go, as like Steve's wife Sandras head is going to fall off..

God I wish I could be a passenger!, just once.

Ray


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## Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

Thank you everyone for your replies - it was a hoot reading them. 
I took it as read that safety comes first, as one sensible person to another, but I guess that will teach me to make assumptions!
Apologies to the people who didn't get the joke about concentrating - I really will have to spell things out in more detail in the future.
Thanks again for your replies - much appreciated.
Brian


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

On the various advanced driving courses I undertook I was told many times by various instructors that there is only one thing to do when driving - drive. 

Dave


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> I spend most of my time looking where I'm going, checking my mirrors, checking the dash, you know driving, anything else is not only stupid it's dangerous if it distracts you from the reason you're there IE driving


You probably wont condone what Im thinking about then!


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## makems (Jul 26, 2010)

I am not allowed to drive because of poor eyesight so Gwen does all the steering wheel twirling and gearshift stirring.
I sometimes argue with the satnav. 
Sometimes if I get forgetful I might offer a useful suggestion on which lane to choose. But i soon remember why I shouldn't do it when I get told in no uncertain terms to keep my opinions to myself. 
And also told to stop arguing with the satnav.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I have found the secret of happy motorhoming is to not go very far. Get two days of long trips behind you to get somewhere in France and then just go slow. I have found on this trip that we have stayed in the same region for weeks. I think this is also down to having a solar panel fitted. I havent felt rushed into moving on to charge the flipping battery. Brilliant! 

The journey I dread the most is Dover to home which is just a nightmare.


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## simandme (Jan 11, 2011)

It depends which country we are driving through..

last time we were in France we would look at the trucks' licenses plates and then had to read them out in the 'olympic voice' (in french/english) - eg 'iitaalee' or 'iitaaliiaah'....i know sad! but kinda moreish!

in South Africa/Australia it's fun to spot the animals

and in the UK, we play, spot the idiot driver!! (sorry, but this little island seems to have a lot of drivers who don't respect others)

But most of all, our favourite game is karoake - the cheesier the song the better :wink:


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## uncleswede (Apr 16, 2010)

Audio books


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

uncleswede said:


> Audio books


You are nicked! - 'driving without due care and attention' - especially in France, if you are listening to any other language other than Francaise and even worse if it is a French oeuvre and dares to use such words as 'weekend'

As for 'swede' it is a vegetable only to be fed to Les Cochons.

C'est Finale! Mon Brave!

Geoffroi


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## jhelm (Feb 9, 2008)

I don't really get into games, but I tend to think that a bit of simple game playing, or conversation is probably good from a safety standpoint as they help keep one awake and the mind active. On those long drives one can easily tend to drift off mentally.


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## chermic (Feb 15, 2013)

I hate our motorways as they are so crowded. My hubby waves to all the motorhomes on the 'other' carriageway and then moans when no-one ever waves back (thats 99.9% of them)

I usually read my Kindle as I don't get sick in the motorhome like I do a car.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

Come to think of it reading number plates is how I learned the phonetic language back in the 70's when taking my Yachtmaster Offshore exam, still remember it all to this day, unlike morse code.. I am Morse dyslexic and keep flashing OSO OSO in an emergency :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: ...

romeo alpha yankee. :wink:


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Foxtrot Oscar, Romeo Alpha yankee. :lol:


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## jhelm (Feb 9, 2008)

chermic said:


> I hate our motorways as they are so crowded. My hubby waves to all the motorhomes on the 'other' carriageway and then moans when no-one ever waves back (thats 99.9% of them)
> 
> I usually read my Kindle as I don't get sick in the motorhome like I do a car.


I think people have given up waving just because there are too many of us on the road. I don't wave first anymore, but try to wave back.


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## uncleswede (Apr 16, 2010)

nicholsong said:


> uncleswede said:
> 
> 
> > Audio books
> ...


On a serious point, I am much less likely to get tired on a long drive if I listen to an audio book or a good radio show. Many years ago I did fall asleep at the wheel (in a car) - fortunately it was early morning on a very quiet, wide road (A12) and I drifted across three lanes, waking up only when I hit the rumble strip near the central reservation ... :-\

Frightened the [email protected] out of me and, ever since then, I make sure I have plenty of coffee and 'entertainment' for long drives. Safer for everyone that way.


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