Is 10 hours too much to drive?

Question

I was thinking about driving from the Detroit area to Montreal ,Quebec CANADA.

It's about 10 hours each way.

Obviously, I would have to stop along the way for gas, the bathroom, and food.

Is 10 hours too much to drive by myself in one day?

Answer 1

It is 662 miles from Detroit to Montreal and a good average would be 50 miles per hour when you consider traffic and delays so you should expect the trip to take 13 hours or so.

13 hours is a long drive but Ive done more than that in a day, you will be tired when you get there but you can do it.

I like to take breaks along the way but other people prefer to only stop for gas food and bathroom breaks.

Montreal is a great city to visit.

Answer 2

The key point is, how READY will you be?

If you've had a full day, it could be very dangerous!  You also never said if you were driving alone or not, or, if you are driving with someone else, will they share in the driving?  Also, what is you "lay-over" time once you get to Montreal, and when will you start back?

I've driven sixteen hours (not professionally, I never did that!) and I've worked on the railroad sixteen hours back in the day when we legally could.  It was a long haul both instances.

Back when I used to live in California and I worked for Southern Pacific railroad, once when I had been up about four hours, I received a call from the crew dispatcher.  I showered, ate, and left with my gear, and drove the 45 miles to Los Angeles, which took about an hour.  I then worked twelve hours but had to be relieved, which took another two hours to sign in "off duty" at the crew shanty before I could get in my car.  I then drove the hour drive home and almost fell asleep on the freeway three times!  That's TWENTY hours!!!

Way too dangerous!

Keep that in mind.

When I drove semi-trucks, my partner and I found that if we drove five hours on and slept for five hours off in the "condo", trading off every five hours, that left four hours each calendar day that the truck could not move.  So we adjusted it and drove that way, with an hour stopped at a truck stop before "trades".  We pretty much kept moving that way, taking turns sleeping and driving.  It was interesting how easy it is to fall asleep when you know it's part of a necessary pattern!

IF YOU ARE RESTED... no more than two hours awake before you depart for your trip because you were already packed for your trip beforehand, I would say it would be safe to drive a private vehicle for twelve hours with short breaks every four hours or when you feel the need to.  Sometimes we feel perfectly content to keep on driving and not feel a bit sleepy, and we have no circulation problems in our behind and legs, two critical fatigue factors.

Keep this in mind:

a)  FATIGUE and SLEEPINESS are NOT the same thing!

You may be able to fend off sleepiness (I'm not recommending that, it's best to pull over and get a half hour to an hour nap!) - - - BUT - - - there is nothing you can do about fatigue except get some good sleep!  I am NOT kidding you on that.  DO NOT try to go on if you are fatigued!

b) COFFEE will PUT YOU TO SLEEP!!!!!   I learned this on the railroad.  We were issued a notice about that, because over the hours of a trip, the supercharged V-20 engine with 645 cubic inch pistons has a whine and a throb that will put a crew to sleep if they are not rested!  The railroad warned us that caffeine will raise your metabolism rate so that your nutrients will be consumed, and then you will get zonked ! ! ! !  We were told not to drink coffee on the trip until we had gotten most of the way to the "away-from-home-terminal"!  When I quit drinking coffee, only drinking juice or water, I quit being sleepy!

What I did in the truck was to take bags of veggies (sliced carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower from the super market) and about two gallons of water per day.  That's all I ate and drank on the trip until either dinner or breakfast time.  It was my snacks and my lunch!  I was never hungry, thirsty or tired.

Have a safe trip.