Have you ever thought of your physical fitness when evaluating your own driving ability? Driving a vehicle is a physical activity, and a driver who gets no physical exercise may not have the required strength, flexibility, or coordination to control and operate a vehicle safely.
This topic is often only discussed with reference to the elderly road users or those with disabilities. It might however be worthwhile to consider our own fitness and the impact that this might have on the few seconds when we are required to take emergency action.
On the Arrive Alive website we find the following information about “physical fitness”
“Physical fitness is the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and muscles at optimum efficiency. Physical fitness is now defined as the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations.
Fitness can also be divided into five categories: aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
When you optimise your fitness, you improve your concentration skills, stamina and fatigue resistance and thereby might be enhancing your safety on the road.”
Physical fitness might have an important impact on our sleeping patterns and ability to avoid driver fatigue. This could also determine our overall health and emotional well-being – helping to deal with the stress and worries of life and perhaps act better when confronted with road rage!
View the Arrive Alive website for info on: