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Information
you may not already know
You've
checked the tire pressure and given the car a
once-over under the hood. But did you remember to get enough sleep the
night before the big road trip? Catching enough Zzzz's is no small
thing. After all, three of the biggest disasters of the last 25 years
--- Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, Exxon Valdez oil spill and Challenger
shuttle explosion --- were the result of, at least in part, of fatigued
workers.
Mixing
sleepiness with driving can impair reflexes and
coordination as severely as drunk driving, and it can have the same
tragic consequences. For most people, sleeping four hours or less will
have the same effect as having two drinks and getting behind the
wheel.
The
U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that at least 200,000
traffic accidents occur each year because of driver fatigue. While
those numbers are tiny when compared to the number of drivers on the
road, all those accidents are highly preventable.
The
amount of sleep a person needs to be fully rested
for the ride varies from person to person. The best way to discover how
much sleep you need is to go to bed without setting an alarm clock and
see when you wake up, said Sehgal, the Covenant doctor. Some will sleep
for six hours, others snooze for 10, he said.
While
sleeping enough before a road trip is at the top
of the safety list, there are several other things a person can do to
stay alert behind the wheel. Get enough sleep the night before your
trip. Plan to drive during time periods when you are normally
awake.
Stop
overnight rather than driving straight through. Avoid driving
during your body's natural "down time." Take a mid-afternoon break and
find a place to sleep between midnight and 6 a.m. Talk with your
passenger.
Someone else is in the car can alert you to signs of
sleepiness. If that happens, switch drivers or drive to a safe place to
get some rest. Send sleepy drivers and passengers to the back seat.
Both people in the front seat should be awake.
When resting, go to the
back seat, buckle up and sleep. Schedule breaks. Stop every two hours
or every 100 miles or sooner if you show signs of sleepiness. Take a
nap, stretch or take a walk before getting back into the car. There
are other methods and tools you can use to keep you awake on the road.
The
Silent Killer
Have
you ever a fantasized about sitting in a 2000 pound metal sled surrounded
by 20 or 30 gallons of flammable liquid, while going head on into
oncoming obstacles at 60 miles an hour, with your eyes closed. Over
half of Americans experience this everyday.
They get behind the wheel of an automobile without the proper sleep.
Referred to as "the silent killer" because it is so often overlooked as
the cause of an accident. The full effect of drowsy driving is not yet
known because reporting is imprecise, police are not trained to detect
sleep related crashes and there is no Breathalyzer test to determine
whether someone was driving while dangerously drowsy.
Driving without the proper sleep has the same effect as driving under
influence of drugs or alcohol. You not only put yourself at risk but
everyone around you. You fight to maintain control of the vehicle while
you attempt to arrive safely at your destination. In the United States
one in five reported falling asleep at the wheel. You know that you are
exhausted but at the moment you are robbed of common sense, and you
sincerely believe you can drive on safely.
Everyone has commitments but we allow them to dictate our life pace,
sometimes with devastating results, especially when we drive with
inadequate rest. Common sense tells us that we are tired and need
sleep, but is overridden by our desire to reach the destination. Lack
of proper sleep is a main cause of mishaps on American highways and it
shows no signs of decreasing as our lifestyles become more and more
hurried.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
estimates that approximately 100,000 police-reported crashes annually
involve drowsiness and/or fatigue as a principal causal factor. You
start the week off with little sleep and end the week exhausted, and
the cycle begins again. You learn to tolerate your exhaustion and it
becomes a habit and pretty soon it becomes a part of your everyday
life.
When you are sleepy and trying to drive the outside world looks and
sounds totally different than under normal conditions. The slightest
sound is magnified a thousand times and the weakest light becomes a
laser beam pointed directly at your eyes. You loose control of your
most important cognitive functions and your reaction time is reduced
significantly. Having small children or animals in the automobile
further complicates the problem.
Perhaps this explains how you are driving in one lane and end up in
another. It may further explain why people end up crashed into trees
and ravines and do not understand how they got there. Those crashes
result in an estimated 1,500 fatalities and 71,000 injuries each year,
and an annual monetary loss of approximately $12.5 billion.
Lets face it you can drive without proper sleep, but you significantly
increase your chances of having an accident. Fortunately for most lack
of sleep is a not a chronic problem. There are many temporary and some
permanent solutions to this mayhem.
Stop driving or switching drivers is a common method use by many drivers
to ensure they get enough sleep. Another technique is to open the
windows or turn on the air conditioning. Contrary to popular belief
noise cannot eliminate the need for the proper sleep but it may keep
you alert when you have decided to keep driving no matter the
consequences. Listening to the radio or compact disc player may be a
solution if the music doesnot relax you so much that you really do fall
asleep.
Stopping to eat or drink may revitalize the body and give you the
energy you need. Drinking caffeine may give you a temporary boost but
this type of relief forces your body to act in an abnormal manner and
sooner or later the effects wear off.
Experts who have looked at the problem say the only safe way to combat
drowsy driving is to pull over to a safe parking spot and take a
20-minute nap. Then drive to the closest safe resting spot such as a
motel, friend's house and sleep. This is great advice but old habits
are sometimes hard to break so you may not quit pushing the envelope
over night.
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