Crashes, dangerous roads, hazardous conditions… It’s enough to make you want to stay in bed. And that’s probably good.

You all have heard it before and you know the idea:  Driving drowsy is dangerous!  Yet people still do it.  While the future may bring cars that make drowsy driving safe, they aren’t here yet and going out on the road while tired imperils yourself and everyone around you.  In fact, some statistics say that drowsy driving is involved in one in six crashes on the road.

So do yourself and everyone else a favor and follow these directions for safe driving.

Awake, Alert, Attentive

• Have at least six hours of sleep.  Don’t kid yourself; if you’re not getting at least that, you’re not being healthy, and you’re going to crash sometime.  On the road or on your desk, it’s going to catch up to you.
• Take a break.  Every 2 hours or 100 miles, head off the road.  Take a nap, walk around, eat a snack… do something to shake off road fatigue.
• Don’t drive if you’re tired.  Your turn for carpool?  Ask someone to swap turns.  Do something to keep yourself away from the wheel when you’re tired.  Of course, if you are getting a good amount of sleep, this will be a problem far less often.
• Have an Alert Passenger.  If you have someone in the other seat, they can shout at you if you’re falling asleep.  Or switch with you.  One way or another, it’ll help you stay awake.  And alive.
• Don’t try to “tough it out.”  Falling asleep at the wheel is not something you can just “shake off and get over.”  If you’re falling asleep, don’t think you can keep going.  Pull over and take a break.

How To Know if You are Among the Drowsy

You’re just driving down the road and suddenly… brbrbrbrbrbr you hit the rumblestrips.  You didn’t even notice you were drifting.  About time to take a break, then.  Here are some warning signs that your body is telling you to sleep while on the road.

• Frequent blinking
• Yawning
• Daydreaming or difficulty focusing
• Heavy eyelids
• Missing exits or turns, forgetting stretches of road
• Drifting
• Irritability

Check out the website on drowsy driving.

Tags: driving, drowsy, road safety, sleep, used engine, used engines