You don’t see many sabre-tooth tigers prowling the hard shoulder of the motorways or freeways these days – not even as you cross the wilds of the Chiltern Hills or pass through Oklahoma.
We can probably agree that’s a good thing.
But what many of us don’t realise is that our experience of driving in 2018 is still affected by the violent and dangerous lives of our Neanderthal ancestors.
How? One word: stress.
Jaguar Land Rover’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Steve Iley, explains: “Stress is the body’s reaction to external stimuli or events. The stimulus causes us to release adrenalin which increases our heart rate, makes us breath faster, tenses up our muscles and so on.
“We’ve evolved that way because having a fight-or-flight response was incredibly useful to our survival thousands of years ago.
“But the challenge of modern life is that those same bodily responses kick in when we don’t actually require them.
“So in reality we’ve just been cut up by an inconsiderate motorist. But our bodies respond as if we are suddenly facing a man-eating predator!”
So, stress is not an illness. And a little can be a good thing. But too much stress – and failing to manage it in the long-term – can cause heart disease, strokes and even some types of cancer, according to the NHS.
That’s why we wanted to ask Steve for some stress-busting tips for drivers as we mark World Mental Health Day on October 10th.
The secret, he says, is a combination of common sense, preparation and smart technology.
“The bodily response that causes stress is a base reaction,” he says. “There’s not a lot we can do to stop it.
“But what we can do is to minimise those external stimuli which create the response, and to make sure we are in the optimal condition to cope when it does happen.”
OK, let’s start with our physical condition.
“Much of this is common sense. Keeping yourself hydrated, fed and well-rested is important,” says Steve. “So is getting the right temperature in your car, making sure it’s well ventilated, and getting the seat and steering wheel correctly positioned.”
As for the external stimuli, that’s where modern technology comes in – and Steve is passionate about Jaguar and Land Rover drivers getting to grips with what our cars can do.
“Use mapping tools to plan your journey,” he says. “Give yourself enough time so that a bit of congestion doesn’t prompt that stress response. And, of course, use your mapping tool to avoid congestion in the first place, if possible.
“Use the Parking Assist. A lot of people find parallel parking difficult and stressful, so knowing that the car will do it for you at the end of the journey means one less thing to get stressed about.
“Use the Radar Cruise Control to keep a safe distance from the car in front, and use the Intelligent Speed Limiters, the Lane Keep Assist and the Traffic Sign Recognition.
“All of these features help to create a peaceful bubble of safe, calm motoring in which the driver is being helped at every stage to deal with external issues.”
Even with an arsenal of modern technology, Steve concedes that most motorists find driving more stressful now than ever before – but he insists that cars can also be part of the solution.
“Driving can be incredibly beneficial to our mental well-being,” he says.
“For many of us, me included, the drive to and from work is a rare moment of solitude: a time to think and reflect, and to make that transition between working life and home life.
“I used to get the train into central London and it was really stressful. Now I drive an hour up the M40 most days and it’s a journey I really look forward to.”
For Steve there’s one final piece of technology which turns the commute from a chore to a pleasure: a podcast played via the in-car entertainment system.
“For some people it’s music, others may love the radio or audiobooks,” he says, “but for me, podcasts have been a revelation.
“They give you complete control over what you want to listen to, so you no longer have that feeling that a journey is time wasted. It becomes an opportunity.”
And if you’re wondering which podcasts keep Dr Steve entertained as he cruises to JLR headquarters near Coventry, his favourite is called “More Or Less – Behind The Statistics”.
A blast of hard mathematics might not be to everyone’s taste as they pass over the Chilterns – but it certainly beats an encounter with a sabre-toothed tiger.