Why don't drivers get "car sick"?

Question

My son asked this question today!

do you know what Mr.X that's what i thought! i wonder if anyone else thinks that......Hmmm?

Emma...i think i may deserve a star!
or, you get coal for Christmas!!

PJ...does your "better half" not concentrating on the driving then.....

That would have answered my second question....you saved me 5 points!!...have a thumbs up!!

Dan s....Have you been smokin something...or is it me?

not quite understanding the answer!

P.S: i'm on my third Foster's!!...
and i can still spell..(Just!)

Tefi...i like your answer!! Thank you...

"coldfeet" i would slightly disagree...as the brain knows your on water and that an expected reaction is to "sway"...your inner ear knows this to be true and counter acts the reaction..this is why you stumble..as the inner ear over reacts ...the brain is not complex enough to evaluate the current speed and rythmn etc. of both the boat and water......i think?

zgjebsi...THAT'S why my wife is a bad passenger!!

Mr.X.....are you STILL after THAT Raleigh Boxer/Grifter/Chopper?

Answer 1

It is because the centre of their brain which controls motion and thus produces motion sickness is involved in making the minute adjustments needed with regards to speed and steering, the driver is constantly looking ahead, with only minor deviations in the mirrors, whereas passengers are often looking out of the side windows which give more of a sense of speed, leaving the brain with too little time to make its adjustments, confusing it and causing nausea, the driver looks ahead, has less sensation of speed, and the brain is able to make the adjustments in relation to the information it gets.

The same happens when flying, when training, if passengers in fighter jets get airsick, if they take the controls, the nausea is likely to quickly vanish.

Answer 2

The true answer to this is that the brain interprets movement to the inner ear for balance, if for instance you are on a boat and the room is rolling the brain is telling the inner ear that this room should not be moving, yet the inner ear is saying well it is, in the event of conflict "Nausea" occures, same in a car, you are looking at something and the brain thinks that it should not be moving, however when a driver sees a bump, or turns the wheel, experience tells the brain that there will be a jolt, or pressure to one side in a turn, and knows that for every input there is a reaction, you sitting in the back do not see the input of bumps and turns, only the reaction.

Answer 3

There brain is being stimulated, their concentration is on the road. People get motion sickness from looking out of the side of the car, where things move past quickly. Eyes tell the brain movement is occuring, but nothing's doing and the irregular pace of the images gives a feeling of disorientation. I'm feeling sick just thinking about it.

Answer 4

Wow! Lots of wrong answers, but only two correct ones.

All travel or motion sickness is caused by conflicting signals reaching the brain. If your eyes think you are stationary, but the motion sensors in your ears think you are moving (or vice versa), you will get sick.

For proof of this, go and watch something like 'To Fly' at an Imax cinema. Many people get travel sick whilst sitting in their seats, not moving at all. This is because the huge size of an Imax screen fools your eyes into thinking you are moving, but the motion sensors in your ears know you're not. Hence, barf!

Driver's rarely get motion sickness because BOTH their eyes and ears are telling their brain that they are moving. No conflicting signals, so no sickness.

Answer 5

I get car sick when I don't drive

The answer is that when I am driving it means that I know what I am going to do, and know that will be turning left or right [accelerate or break] and my body slightly moves to left or right [or hold on tight when breaking] etc

as if when you are a passenger every move the driver makes is unexpected to the passenger

Answer 6

I have always wondered that as I am a bad passenger and car sick but okay when I drive, I think its cos you are concentrating on driving and also looking straight ahead most of the time and they say to look to the horrizon if you feel car sick.

Answer 7

Neither do pilots of aircraft. I think they have something steady that they have to concentrate on. if on a ship and you look at the horizon and nothing else ( no rail bobbing up and down) it will provide a fixed point and sickness will ease slightly anyway and may be completely

Answer 8

some do if its hot i get car sick if i haveto sit there for sometime . But i think most drivers dont get sick because of concentration keeping our eyes on the road for other users and the general public . Good question though.

Answer 9

Because they're concentrating on the driving.
Or should be, so they don't have the opportunity to feel car sick!!!

P.S. I've been a good boy all year, will I be getting a good present this Xmas.

LOL!!!
.

Answer 10

I think it is because the driver is in control of the car and can anticipate any movement of the vehicle whereas the passengers in the car who may be reading or chatting amongst themselves are less able to see what is coming in terms of bumps in the road and sharp bends.