How to beat those sleepy drives!

Are you ever on a long, monotonous drive and find yourself nodding off? Here are some tips to avoid that scary scenario!

Signs you or the driver are tired and need to rest:

• Drifting lanes and onto rumble strips
• Eyelids feel heavy and have difficulty keeping them open
• Feeling irritable
• Yawning excessively
• Missing directions, turns or exits
• Not remembering part of your drive or conversations with passengers
• The classic head-snap

If you notice these symptoms for yourself or the driver, stop the car and switch drivers or take a break. Also, if you see other cars/drivers on the road doing any of these, stay away from them.

Being awake for about 18 hours is the equivalent of being legally drunk; this is why some drowsy drivers are mistaken for drunk drivers in accidents. This, just like drunk driving, compromises your reaction time to a possible accident.




People impacted most by drowsy driving:

• Shift workers
• Students and people under 25
• Workers with long hours
• People with treated or untreated sleep disorders
• Business workers who travel by plane often (jet lag)
• Commercial drivers

Ways to prevent or treat drowsy driving:

• Have a form of caffeine 20-30 minutes before driving; it takes that long to enter the bloodstream and work effectively
• Singing loudly to the radio 
• Taking a nap before hand or at a rest stop during the drive (10-20 minutes)
• Driving with another passenger
• Avoid driving at times you would normally be sleeping (usually between 12-6 AM)
• Taking a break and/or walk
• Avoid driving with excessive heat (use the air conditioner if needed)
• Avoid alcohol and medicine that can make you tired before and while driving
• Planning (on long road trips) to switch drivers every so often
• Snacking on something

The old 'keep the windows open and the radio up loud' do not always work. They aren't nearly as effective as the methods listed above. However, the best way to avoid drowsy driving is to get 7-9 hours of well rested sleep.

If you need to take a nap, find a safe place like a parking lot or rest stop to do so.  Then lock the doors and take the keys out of the ignition. It might help to set an alarm for 10-20 minutes too. Any more than that and you could be sleepier/groggy or cause attention to yourself. (Never stop and nap on the side of the road, you could end up getting hit.)





Nowadays, newer cars are coming out with sensors that sense the car drifting lanes or off the road. This is especially helpful with drowsy drivers, but also for drunk and texting drivers.

Driving tired could end up costing youself, your passengers or other drivers on the road their lives.