What Is Highway Hypnosis?
It’s common to lose track of time, especially if you’re performing mundane tasks at work or when you’re out having fun with friends. That same sensation of “lost time” can also occur while driving.
That’s a phenomenon known as highway hypnosis or white-line fever. It happens when your brain takes over, and you drive as a matter of routine while losing touch with your surroundings.
It is also a condition that can lead to accidents.
Understanding Highway Hypnosis
Highway hypnosis is best described as losing a sense of time when you are driving.
In a way, you “blackout” and aren’t aware of how fast you’re driving, what signs you pass, or if you’re driving safely. It is a condition you don’t know you’re going through until you snap out of it. This can happen to anyone, especially drivers traveling familiar routes like going to school, work, or the store.
It’s also common to experience highway hypnosis when you go on longer road trips over long stretches of roads.
From a medical perspective, highway hypnosis is classified as “an amnesiac, trancelike state with longer reaction times.” That is how the authors of a Sensors study published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) described the condition.
It is like going on “auto-pilot,” and your brain activates its procedural memory.
Think of riding a bike. Once you learn how to master that skill, you don’t think about how you have to pedal to get to where you’re going. You just do it.
It’s the same with things like tying your shoes, washing dishes, or taking a shower. Even though you’re on the road and alert to the conditions, your brain takes over and applies what the Cleveland Clinic describes as hyperfocused automatic attention.
Although this condition doesn’t often last for prolonged periods, some factors could make it worse.
Contrasting This Practice With Drowsy Driving
Although they are often associated together, highway hypnosis and drowsy driving are not the same. However, highway hypnosis can become more dangerous when you experience severe drowsiness behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving was attributed to 693 fatalities in 2022.
Here are some ways to combat drowsy driving:
- Talk to someone (hands-free) while driving
- Play loud music
- Open the windows
- Drink coffee, tea, or other caffeinated drinks
- Pull over for a rest period
Highway Hypnosis Isn’t a Type of Distracted Driving
Highway hypnosis is a type of brain function. It should not be confused with distracted driving. Yes, if you’re distracted, you can miss an exit or not be aware of the other cars on the road, like highway hypnosis.
However, distracted driving is more of an active choice. You choose to take your eyes off the road to deal with a text, drink, food, or changing the radio.
Avoiding Becoming Hypnotized on the Road
One of the ways to avoid highway hypnosis is to try to drive more on instinct.
If you turn off the GPS on long road trips, you will need to pay attention to exit signs. Additionally, you should refrain from activating the cruise control. That will take even more control away from you and give your brain an excuse to “check out.”
If you experience highway hypnosis on your regular routes, you can also consider switching things up and going a different way.
For long trips, get into the habit of reading highway signs out loud. Your seat should be in an upright position. Also, consider setting an alarm and taking a break every 90 minutes.
That break should mean pulling over, getting out of the car, and stretching.
Getting Help in a Truck Accident
Truck drivers are susceptible to highway hypnosis, given the nature of their work.
The result can be a severe accident, like a rear-end truck crash.
Getting involved in a collision with a semi-truck can be highly upsetting. It can also lead to severe injuries. That is the exact situation you must discuss with us at Trucking Injury Law Group.
We help motorists injured in tractor-trailer crashes all across Vancouver and other parts of Washington as well as Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and beyond.
Call to schedule a complimentary consultation about your accident and explore how highway hypnosis might be a factor and what rights you may have if it was.
