Have you ever driven a route so many times that you just sort of go on autopilot without even noticing? When you’re growing up and your mom accidentally tries to drive you to her office instead of taking you to school because that’s where she’s used to going at 8am, you laugh and wonder how on earth they could get mixed up.

While I have found myself suddenly heading on some unintended, yet overly familiar path, what I find scarier is when you realize you can’t recall having passed certain terrain. When driving from SB to home this weekend, as I was approaching the usual downgrade on the 101, I realized that I totally hadn’t even noticed the semi-large upgrade that precedes it.

I used to always notice this upgrade because my old car would only be able to take it going 30mph, maybe a little faster if I got a good head start. With my current vehicle, it’s not as obvious when I’m climbing the hill, because my car is able to go a normal pace over the hill and has a maximum speed of more than 80mph.

It’s kinda freaky to realize you just drove a whole large section and might not have been paying very close attention. Maybe I can blame it on the familiarity of the road—I’ve driven it dozens of times. Or perhaps it is due to all those driving video games I used to play as a kid—as a result, I’m used to driving while paying attention to other things, like the song on the radio that I’m singing to, but still pay enough attention to the road. How else would I have known to turn around the bend and not crash into the center divider?

The other freaky thing about driving this weekend was when I attempted to drive back during the Super Bowl. I assumed that if I went after it started, that there would hardly be any traffic. After all, they always hype how *everyone* watchs it. I pretty much expected to be the only person on the road, save for 3 other females or something.

I totally underestimated the amount of drivers. The traffic may have been a little less overall, but only slightly. I was far from the only car as I traveled through LA, Ventura, and SB counties. Maybe some people were running late to their designated party, or maybe they had the same idea as me. Also surprising was the number of male drivers, and those with more than one passenger I saw. Very strange.

Or maybe everyone is realizing that the Super Bowl is way overhyped anyway, and the commercials haven’t been really good in years.

Posted at 4:23 PM |