Driving and stress

If you search the internet for words like stress plus traffic, you see that lots of people think that driving is stressful. Probably no surprise to anyone. I had heard it myself, but one time recently I actually got to feel it in a way I had not before.

I was out of town for the weekend and came home to my adopted major metropolitan area early in the morning to avoid rush hour. I still got caught in the beginning of it, and since I don't regularly drive in rush hour I could actually feel the stress of being in it.

Then I got home, got some things unpacked and otherwise settled, and got on my bike and rode to work. Having those two experiences so close together, driving in semi-rush hour and riding a bike in traffic, showed me more clearly than just reading about it could, that driving a car is stressful. I could feel the stress in one activity and noticed the lack of it in the other.

I think that the stress is hidden from us because we are used to it. Now I wonder what toll it might take over decades. I also think that if I were going to try to explain why one should ride a bike to work if possible, it would be hopeless to suggest that is is less stressful. I myself would not have really understood it when I started. It is only after some years that I can really feel the difference and understand.