Sleepy Drivers - The Deadly Threat On Our Roads

Your eyes are heavy, your head starts to nod and pretty soon
you’re taking an impromptu nap.
Trouble is, you’re not in your favourite chair at home, but
behind the wheel of your car. Or the huge semi-trailer you drive for a
living.
If you’re lucky, you’ll wake up before you lose
control and veer off the road . . . or into oncoming traffic.
But if you don’t wake up, you’ll never know what
hit you - and neither will the poor victims in your path.
Welcome to the world of sleepy drivers - coming soon to a road near
you.
Virtually every driver at some point has had to pull over for a rest
break because they desperately needed to close their eyes. Think about
the annual family vacation, for example. You’ve only driven
around town or your city for the past year and suddenly
you’re heading off on a journey of several hundred miles with
a vehicle full of noisy kids. You didn’t sleep much the night
before because of all the packing and last minute things that had to be
done around the house.
If you make an early start, there’s a pretty good chance your
partner and the kids will soon be taking a nap while you focus on the
road. Soon, you’ll join them . . .
Of all the activities to engage in after a poor night’s
sleep, driving is right up there with the most dangerous.
Yet we do it ALL THE TIME!!
The U.S. National Commission on Sleep Disorders conducted a survey that
found drowsiness was a factor in half of all traffic collisions and a
staggering 36 per cent of fatal accidents.
The U.K. government found that 20 per cent of so-called
“accidents” that resulted in death and serious
injury were caused by drivers who were drowsy or suffering from a sleep
disorder.
11 per cent of British drivers admitted to having fallen asleep at the
wheel.
New research from Stanford University suggests that driving while you
are tired is as dangerous as drunk driving. If you nod off easily in
work meetings, at home or feel excessively sleepy when driving,
it’s time to get yourself to the doctor’s office
for a check-up. You might have a serious medical condition like sleep
apnea (Greek for “without breath”) which prevents
you from getting a good night‘s sleep, making you excessively
drowsy during the day.
Don’t put that appointment it off - your next nap could kill
you and those near and dear to you.
While I recommend a medical check-up for excessive tiredness and heavy
snoring, many of us suffer from short- or long-term insomnia. We just
aren’t getting the rest we need because of lifestyle, stress
and anxiety, shift work and other causes. I address those issues in my
book Banish Insomnia (see below), but there are some simple things all
of us should do to make sure we are fit to hit the road.
First, remember that most adults need 7-8 hours sleep. Don’t
think you’ll get away with three or four, especially if
you’re been partying. Your reactions will be dulled and
you’ll be a danger to yourself and other road users.
Second, share the driving if at all possible, particularly on a long
trip. Third, plan on plenty of rest breaks. It’s a macho,
dumb “guy thing” to think you can drive all day
without stopping just because you’re impatient to get there.
Relax, your destination isn’t going anywhere. I say two
hours, three maximum, is long enough in one stretch to be focused on
the road and other vehicles.
Fourth, make sure you are particularly well rested before driving at
night, when you are contending with dazzling lights and poor
visibility. Don’t start driving in the dark if
you’ve been working hard all day. Take a nap first and if you
still feel tired, delay the journey.
Fifth, read your maps and know where you are going. The combination of
tiredness and confusion in a strange city can be deadly.

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