Tag: safety

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life is a journey, not a destination,” so don’t let the most important part of your trip be ruined by the soul-crushing symptoms of motion sickness. A disorder of the inner ear, motion sickness causes a long list of problems, including dizziness, nausea, and even vomiting. It is caused by an imbalance between your eyes, inner ears, and spine. This imbalance happens when there is a conflict between your senses, which sends your brain mixed signals. Most people get motion sickness during long commutes, although many experience the worst symptoms on planes and boats. If you are regularly affected by motion sickness, make your bus travels a lot more enjoyable with these tried-and-true remedies from the travel pros at Metropolitan Shuttle, the leading charter bus reservation company serving the U.S. and Canada.

OTC Medication

Antihistamines like Antivert, Benadryl, Meclizine, and Dramamine all help prevent motion sickness if taken about an hour before your travels. Medication is one of the most sure-fire ways for eliminating motion sickness, but you also have to consider the common side effects like drowsiness, constipation, and blurred vision. In fact, it is not advised to take an antihistamine while driving. If you’re traveling on a charter bus, you have the convenience of a professional doing all the work, so you can sit back, relax, and take your medication before you experience any motion sickness. You can also counteract the drowsy effects with caffeinated drinks like coffee or tea. Always consult your doctor before taking any OTC medications to make sure they’re the right fit for you.

Home Remedies

If you don’t feel like dealing with the negative side effects of medications, there are several natural remedies that are effective and also have great health benefits. You can more than adequately prevent motion sickness with common items like ginger, Vitamin B-6, and peppermint. Ginger is very effective for easing motion sickness, plus it comes in many forms, including candies, drinks, and capsules. Another popular home remedy is Vitamin B-6, which also contains cancer-fighting antioxidants that help rid your body of free radicals. A cup of soothing peppermint tea is also a useful remedy for easing an upset stomach. If you’re traveling on a bus, you can also try peppermint candies for a more convenient, on-the-go solution.    

Change Positions

On the Metropolitan Shuttle charter bus, you have plenty of space to lean back and get comfortable. Many people have reported that changing the way they’re sitting can help alleviate motion sickness. Having the ability to move around and stretch out can drastically reduce the symptoms of motion sickness, if not eradicate them entirely. If you crave the ultimate experience on your next bus trip, you should travel on Metropolitan Shuttle’s Luxury Coach Bus, a luxurious and spacious vehicle that allows you to get up and move around, even switch seats to a comfy reclining lounge chair with a footrest.

Good Ventilation

Fresh air is very restoring, and if you can access it, you can run in circles around motion sickness. When you ride with Metropolitan Shuttle, you’ll have plenty of ventilation and airflow since each individual seat has its own thermostat control, which allows you to make the most of your traveling experience. The charter bus also has great air ventilation and is guaranteed to keep you comfortable all the way to your final destination. If you feel any nausea, situate yourself in front of the air vent and let the cool air blow directly on your face. This method may sound strange but many sufferers of motion sickness have reported an instant reduction in nausea with a blast of cold air to the face. If you can’t get to an air vent quickly enough, keep a battery-operated hand-sized fan in your pocket or handbag and break it out any time you need a quick fix for queasiness.

Watch What You Eat

Eating food that is hard to digest may cause your nausea to worsen, especially spicy foods and alcohol, which can also heighten your chances of vomiting. Alternatively, you should go for foods that are easy on your stomach like crackers, soup, and granola bars. Preferably, you should stick with sipping ginger ale because the bubbles will help soothe your stomach while the ginger lessens your nausea. You might have been led to believe that traveling on an empty stomach will decrease your chance of motion sickness but this is a common misconception. In fact, eating a light, protein filled meal beforehand is recommended by healthcare professionals because it gently coats the stomach and prevents any symptoms. If you ride Metropolitan Shuttle’s charter bus, you’ll have access to a full galley kitchen that you can visit anytime you crave a snack or need a drink.

Focus on a Fixed Point in the Distance

Because your inner ears and muscles are sensing similar things, looking towards the direction you are headed can help re-calibrate your inner ear and eyes. You should notice it working after three to five minutes, which makes this method an easy and effective way to put motion sickness in the back seat. It also gives you a fantastic excuse to pay attention to the scenery around you rather than burying your face in a phone or book.

Distract Yourself

Talking with a friend or even a stranger sitting next to you can help reduce the consequences of motion sickness. There are many ways to distract yourself from your current conditions but engaging in conversation with your neighbors is among the best ways to go about this. Not only will meeting new people make your trip more enjoyable and entertaining, but it can also alleviate nausea that has been putting you in a bad mood for the past few miserable hours. Another crucial way to calm your motion sickness is by listening to music. Playing some jams can seriously help distract you from your onslaught of nausea and put you back on track to having an absolutely wonderful journey. This is especially true for people who can endlessly listen to music. But the distraction method isn’t just anecdotal; there is research that supports music and its ability to help you evade the harsh effects of motion sickness. According to Dr. Levine, who studies behavioral and alternative motion-sickness treatments at Siena College, “Listening to one’s favorite music as a distraction showed improvements in symptoms including nausea, as well as in physiological changes.”

The stomach-churning, uneasy, about-to-upchuck feelings of motion sickness can make bus travel a major bummer, but when you pre-treat the symptoms with these fail-safe remedies, get ready for smooth sailing on your next road trip.

Traveling is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have, which is why it makes numerous appearances on everybody’s bucket lists. Seeing the world allows your adventurous spirit to come alive, making travel a priceless endeavor. Traveling with others has its obvious benefits; every smart traveler appreciates a wingman that offers companionship and most importantly, safety in numbers. Traveling with a group also saves you money since you can split the costs of meals, transportation, and hotels. In fact, the more people in your group, the cheaper the price per passenger, especially with charter buses. Before you go, get a quote from Metropolitan Shuttle and see how much money you’ll save on transportation.

One of the most common reasons people don’t travel is because they have no one to bring along. Whether it’s due to scheduling conflicts or other unforeseen complications, trying to coordinate travel dates can often seem impossible in adulthood. But that shouldn’t hold you back from checking off items on your bucket list. According to Eleanor Roosevelt, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.” So listen up solo travelers–pack your bags and say yes to new adventures.

1. Get to Know Yourself Better

Traveling alone gives you the luxury of spending time with yourself and your thoughts. Add a stunning backdrop of an island paradise, snow-capped mountain peaks, or a massive canyon and you have the perfect formula for inspiring a crowning moment in life. You might be drawn to the wandering life, but that doesn’t mean you’re lost, especially when you get the opportunity to see awe-inspiring sights and natural wonders around every corner.

Without a travel companion to distract you, you’ll be able to do some serious soul-searching. Use your alone time to write down your hopes and dreams in a journal; a stroke of genius could happen at any moment, which is why it’s important to make notes. If writing isn’t your cup of tea, try photo journaling, another creative way to chronicle your journey. Travel can make you speechless and then turn you into a storyteller–that’s one of the magical things about exploring new terrain.

2. Meet New People

Traveling alone forces you to make connections with strangers, whether it’s asking for directions or striking up a friendly conversation. For extroverts, it’s a chance to show the world their charming and witty side; for the quiet types, it challenges them to break out of their comfort zone and reach out to people when they normally would keep to themselves.

If you’re searching for your tribe of like-minded travelers, traveling alone gives you the opportunity to invite love and romance into your life. With a romantic setting in the background, falling in love can be truly magical on your solo travels. To give yourself more chances of meeting new people, consider taking classes with other lifelong learners who share your interests, like cooking or dance lessons.  

If you’re far from home in a foreign country, making friends with the locals is also a great way to experience the culture. An easy way to create a circle of neighborhood pals is by becoming a regular fixture at your favorite bar, restaurant or cafe. While it’s exciting to take the road less traveled, it also helps to create a routine because it gives you more chances of encountering the same people.

3. Accomplish Career Goals

Without the distractions of everyday life, solo travel gives you the chance to focus your mind more intensely on one project. Many famous works of art, music, and literature were created on an extended journey; Van Gogh painted his iconic impressionist paintings on a trip from his hometown in Amsterdam to the scenic French countryside; When John Steinbeck traveled across the country on a road trip, he documented his experience in his memoir Travels With Charlie. The list goes on and on…

The point of traveling alone is that the experience can be anything you want it to be. With an abundance of “me time,” you won’t have anything distracting you from important work that resonates with your creative vision. Whether it’s documenting your travels, learning a language, or writing your memoirs, lone travel gives you the space you need to cultivate your strongest talents.  

4. Discover Your Creativity

With only his loyal poodle Charlie by his side, Steinbeck had the time to let his thoughts and ideas marinate in his head and then blossom into classic works. The lesson here is simple: For creativity to flourish, you need an abundance of alone time so that you can cultivate and hone your talents and skills.

Successful people often say that creativity is a two-part process—50 percent of the time is spent thinking and the other half is focusing and getting the job finished. In other words, half the time you might be staring at the ceiling while the other half you’re drinking coffee and typing furiously on your laptop or painting on canvas. When you travel alone, you can make a personalized schedule that complements your creative process. And once you get into a rhythm, the rest comes easy.

If you travel alone, it also gives you the chance to try something new, which can be an exciting way to discover hidden talents. When you don’t have another person to consider, it makes it easier to be spontaneous and go out on a limb–like taking belly dancing lessons in Morocco or learning shoemaking from an apprenticeship with an Italian cobbler. The world is a big place with lots of opportunities, but if you’re with others, it might hold you back from taking chances.

5. Make Your Own Schedule

Traveling solo gives you the option to be selfish with your time but without feeling guilty about it. When you hit the road as a lone traveler, you don’t have to worry about other people’s needs, which gives you plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny of your destination. You also have the freedom to be lazy and spend the whole afternoon at the cinema. However you choose to spend your time, traveling alone allows you the freedom to wander aimlessly, be a tourist, or whatever strikes your fancy from moment to moment.

Traveling alone doesn’t have to be boring or lonely, especially when you arrive at your destination with a plan. If you’re on a work vacation, try working in the morning over breakfast and then a few hours in the evening after dinner; that way you’ll have the entire afternoon for exploring all the highlights. Another option is to bring your work with you wherever you go, which is easy with smartphones, iPads and the like. With your project at your fingertips, you have the freedom to work whenever and wherever you want – the Eiffel Tower, Grand Canyon…the world is your oyster.

6. Boost Confidence in Yourself

Traveling alone forces you out of your comfort zone, which might seem uncomfortable at certain moments, like when you have to dine alone, for example, or go to the movies without your usual plus one. But it’s also an effective way to get involved with the local community. When you have inside connections, you never know what amazing and unexpected experiences you’ll come across. Having a local show you around is one of the best ways to get an up close and personal look into the culture. When you’re in a foreign country and learn the lay of the land, it will naturally give you more confidence in any situation.

Learning another language makes the challenging of adapting to a new culture even more rewarding. It also helps you engage with new people from different backgrounds while also honing your communication skills. It’s more than learning words but also about understanding a new world of body language and subtext that contrasts with your own country. When you embark on a journey, consider taking language classes, which gives you a head start on communicating with the locals while also helping you connect with other travelers.

One isn’t always the loneliest number, especially when you travel with a purpose. Stop dreaming, start living, and be the traveler who just goes for it.

“Look out for the other guy.”

It’s something we often say when someone leaves for a family trip, group event, or anything else that involves being on the road for a long time. Most of us do our best to be safe, vigilant drivers. Unfortunately, not everyone out there can say the same. The proliferation of technology in our cars and on our phones doesn’t make things any easier.

It seems obvious that everyone should be careful behind the wheel — but every year, thousands of automobile trips end in fatalities because of carelessness or operator error. Bad driving habits aren’t just a thing to avoid out of politeness. It could just save your life.

The Dreaded Distracted Driving

Whether it’s reading a text, glancing at the weather app, or checking the flight time on your phone, distracted driving has become a literal killer. Many states have started to crack down on distracted driving and the use of handsets while in the car. A few even ban their use altogether, even with hands-free devices. While some newer models of smartphone give you the option of turning off notifications while you’re driving, it’s best to avoid getting in the habit in the first place. While in the car, put your phone down and leave it alone.

Following Too Close

Tailgating the car ahead of you might seem harmless, but it can result in a traffic citation, a fender-bender, or worse. It’s especially dangerous when moving at high speeds, or in dangerous conditions. It may not seem like you’re going fast relative to one another, but a sudden stop or unseen obstacle in the road can spell disaster. Make room between yourself and the vehicle ahead, especially when it comes to large vehicles like tractor trailers.

Driving While Sleepy

Almost everyone’s done it. Whether you’re pushing to get home after a long road trip, or you’re trying to make that extra hundred miles to the motel, drowsy driving seems like a venial sin. But falling asleep at the wheel is responsible for 100,000 crashes a year. Sometimes, rolling down the windows and blasting the stereo just isn’t enough. Sleep deprivation can dull your senses, slow your reaction times, and impair your judgment. That’s why, at Metropolitan Shuttle, our drivers are only allowed to drive for 10 hours or 600 miles (whichever comes first) before requiring a relief driver. That’s not just a legal limit — it’s our commitment to safety.

Not Using Headlights

We’ve all met that one driver who doesn’t have their headlights on in the wee hours of the morning, or just after twilight. But headlights are also important during bad weather like rain storms or blizzards. If there’s any doubt, don’t assume the other person can see you coming. It’s a good idea to not take any chances and  have your headlights on at all times.

Speeding

It may seem obvious, but going too fast is responsible for a significant percentage of all traffic accidents. When many of us think of speeding, we think of the reckless driver going a hundred miles an hour… not the everyday driver who drives the speed limit during snow or rain. Don’t let the all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes, or other technology to save you from the laws of physics. Keep an eye on the speed limit and on the road conditions, and put your safety (and that of others) first.

Does the thought of sharing the road with drivers like this give you pause? There’s an easy way to make transportation to your next group outing, corporate event, or other road trip stress-free. Metropolitan Shuttle is a reservation service for charter buses, and we pride ourselves on our safety record when it comes to both drivers and buses. Want to get everyone where they’re going safely and comfortably? Call us at 1-866-556-3545 or contact us today to get pricing on a bus charter – you’ll be surprised how affordable it can be!