Drivers horrified after realising they experience 'highway hypnosis' once learning what it is
Driving is a necessity for a lot of us, helping us get from point A to point B without the hassle of waiting for buses, trams or trains.
But the thing with driving is as you become more experienced, the more it becomes second-nature to you - just like learning to walk.
Okay, maybe it's not that easy, but you know what I mean.
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Especially if you have to drive to college, work, to school to pick the kids up, you just do it without thinking and without any hitches.
It turns out that there's a name for this phenomenon - where you can often have a flash of realisation while you're on the road - and remember that you're manning a whole vehicle.
It's been explained on Reddit of all places, on a subreddit called 'Today I Learned', where one Redditor put: "TIL 'Highway hypnosis' is an altered mental state in which a person can safely drive an automobile great distances with no recollection of having consciously done so.
"It is a manifestation of automaticity, where the conscious and subconscious minds are able to concentrate on different things."
That's right, the autopilot state that you can go into while driving a car - especially on long, continuous stretches like the motorway - is actually considered a form of hypnosis, as you almost have no recollection of being at the wheel.
You can't really blame us though, a lot of motorways are an absolute bore to drive down.
It's not just a theory either, as Automobile Association's Paul Watters weighed in on the situation during an interview with the BBC in 2013 - yes it's that old: "It's a strange feeling. You're not necessarily inattentive but you're in a slightly different state.
"I don't think it means you're going to have an accident but it means you're not completely engaged in the task of driving, so we would advise members not to get distracted like this."
It may not be more dangerous to be in this state though, as hypnotherapist Stuart Robertson also revealed that reaction times might actually be quicker as the sub-conscious can be more engaged with the surrounding environment.
But if we hop across the pond, it looks like some people there don't fully agree with this train of thought.
Joshua Maxwell, an ergonomics engineer at the Hyundai-Kia Technical Center in Michigan, said that drivers will react slower as they are 'zoned out'.
One thing that is certain is that as most people who go through highway hypnosis are tired drivers, which is obviously dangerous.
You can always remedy this with some caffeine, a chat with passengers, some good tunes or taking regular breaks - just turn cruise control off as well.
People were left terrified in the comments of the Reddit post, with one saying: "It's so weird when you're deep in thought and you're like "oh s**t, I'm driving."
Another put: "This always freaks me out. I used to drive over an hour each way to work 1/3 city 1/3 motorway and 1/3 semi-country roads. I'd remember leaving work and the first or 2nd roundabout the next I know I'm coming up to a busy junction on the motorway 30mins later.
"My subconscious took the wheel up to the point where I couldn't just cruise through it and had to make decisions."
A third was on the contrary: "Honestly, I feel like my driving is better when i just stare off into space and take everything in with my periphery than when I actually focus directly in front of me.
"Is it like that for you guys?"
It's an incredibly weird phenomenon, but it's clear that more or less all of us have experienced it, and probably will in the future at some point.
Joshua Nair