Dizzy on high mountain roads
rachel cohen
many know the problem. My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain
roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
let me drive on these stretches and freezes completely. We had to
turn backwards often, when there's no railing at the roadside,
and making a U turn is of course worse than driving ahead.
We like mountains and passes, and don't like plains, and from the
maps we can't know if the roads have railings.
We plan to drive in Norway this summer, and I'm worried about it.
I'd like to hear from persons who have this problem, and how you
manage.
Rachel
Mark Brader
> My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain roads that have a
> steep descent on one side. If the road is an a crest with descents
> on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't let me drive on these
And that's probably on roads that have one lane each way, too.
In Norway, roads other than major ones are often narrower than that!
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "I shot a query into the net.
msbr...@interlog.com | I haven't got an answer yet..." --Ed Nather
My text in this article is in the public domain.
David Gascon
>
> Dizziness? Vertigo? I don't know the right word in english, but
> roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
> crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
> let me drive on these stretches and freezes completely.
I'm missing something here: if he has the vertigo problem, what's the
problem with you doing the driving?
Michael Forrest
<msbr...@interlog.com> writes
>Rachel Cohen writes:
>> My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain roads that have a
>> steep descent on one side. If the road is an a crest with descents
>> on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't let me drive on these
>
>And that's probably on roads that have one lane each way, too.
>In Norway, roads other than major ones are often narrower than that!
I colleague of mine thought something similar about being driven at high
speed on an autobahn. So he knelt on the back seat facing backwards. He
said that it looked a lot less hazardous that way. Maybe the original
poster could drive whilst her husband tries this. Maybe he would then be
better acclimatised to both the roads and her driving.
Kevin Dekan
>
> rachel cohen wrote:
> >
> > Dizziness? Vertigo? I don't know the right word in english, but
> > roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
> > crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
> > let me drive on these stretches and freezes completely.
>
> problem with you doing the driving?
Actually sometimes being the passenger is *worse*. I
remember this from a trip to the Colorado Rockies in
the US a number of years ago. I preferred driving on
the high, winding mountain roads. My friend did as well.
It has to do with a sense of control. When you are the
passenger looking at an upcoming curve with no guardrail
and a drop-off of thousands of feet, it can be rather
unnerving. But if you are the driver, you know you are
in control and will navigate the curve.
Now I don't know if this is what Rachel is referring to
but I thought I'd offer my $0.02.
-Kevin
Joseph Coulter
1. The driver rarely has as spectacular (read threatening) a view unless
driving on the "wrong" side of the road (ie British car in the Alps)
2. I recall from flying that when one has the controls they can anticipate
the behavior of the aircraft and be prepared. (Experienced piots who
"never" get airsick will occassionally suffer when they act as passengers
during acrobatics)
J Coulter
David Gascon
>
> David Gascon wrote:
> >
> > rachel cohen wrote:
> > >
> > > Dizziness? Vertigo? I don't know the right word in english, but
> > > many know the problem. My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain
> > > roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
> > > crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
> > > let me drive on these stretches and freezes completely.
> >
> > I'm missing something here: if he has the vertigo problem, what's the
> > problem with you doing the driving?
>
> Actually sometimes being the passenger is *worse*. I
> remember this from a trip to the Colorado Rockies in
> the US a number of years ago. I preferred driving on
> the high, winding mountain roads. My friend did as well.
> It has to do with a sense of control. When you are the
> passenger looking at an upcoming curve with no guardrail
> and a drop-off of thousands of feet, it can be rather
> unnerving. But if you are the driver, you know you are
> in control and will navigate the curve.
>
> Now I don't know if this is what Rachel is referring to
> but I thought I'd offer my $0.02.
>
> -Kevin
Good point, I hadn't thought of that angle.
Daniel P. B. Smith
dizziness/motion sickness aspects. A few years ago I visited Lick
Observatory on Mount Hamilton. The road was built before automobiles
and was built to have an extremely LOW grade, meaning it's not steep at
all, but it twists and turns a lot. According to legend, there are
exactly 365 turns in the original road. There are very FEW places that
are at all scary or that overlook steep descents, but the turning and
twisting just keep going on and on and on. I do not normally have
problems with motion sickness, and when I drove up this road I at first
had trouble recognizing the sensations I was experiencing. At first they
just seemed like fatigue, and then gradually I realized I was becoming
motion sick and had to stop to rest and let the symptoms wear off...
So this was a case where I got dizzy and sick without the SLIGHTEST
trace of fear or anxiety.
--
Daniel P. B. Smith
email: dpbs...@bellatlantic.net
"Lifetime forwarding" email address: dpbs...@mit.alum.edu
Nigel Harris
rachel cohen <rach...@internet-zahav.net> wrote ...
> Dizziness? Vertigo? I don't know the right word in english, but
> many know the problem. My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain
> roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
> crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
> turn backwards often, when there's no railing at the roadside,
> and making a U turn is of course worse than driving ahead.
> We like mountains and passes, and don't like plains, and from the
> maps we can't know if the roads have railings.
> We plan to drive in Norway this summer, and I'm worried about it.
> I'd like to hear from persons who have this problem, and how you
> manage.
>
"freeze" and negotiate U turns on mountain roads, you really should question
whether what you're doing is safe for yourselves and for other road users.
I don't know what the answer to your problem is, but I sure wouldn't want to
come around the corner of a mountain road and find you "frozen" in the
middle of it or trying to turn around. Maybe you should consider traveling
by train?
Dean Tran
Frist, to separate the symtoms, try to drive a car with good suspensions.
My wife said that she felt like throwing up when I drove her car in a
bad road, but when I took her in my car in the same road, there was no
complaint.
I changed her car's shock-absorbers, and she stopped feeling sick.
Dean
Kevin Dekan wrote:
> David Gascon wrote:
> >
> > rachel cohen wrote:
> > >
> > > Dizziness? Vertigo? I don't know the right word in english, but
> > > many know the problem. My husband gets dizzy driving on mountain
> > > roads that have a steep descent on one side. If the road is an a
> > > crest with descents on both sides, it's even worse. He doesn't
> > > let me drive on these stretches and freezes completely.
> >
rachel cohen
<dean...@cup.hp.com> wrote:
>
>Frist, to separate the symtoms, try to drive a car with good suspensions.
>My wife said that she felt like throwing up when I drove her car in a
>bad road, but when I took her in my car in the same road, there was no
>complaint.
>
>I changed her car's shock-absorbers, and she stopped feeling sick.
>
>Dean
Thats an interesting point, though the rented cars on our europe
tours are always new, and should have new and good shock
absorbers. I did notice that on a bus it's better.
By the way, motion sickness and fear of heights are IMO not the
same.