drowsy drivers are more frequent and more dangerous than you may think.
It is therefore not surprising that Americans are exhausted. After all, the stress of living in a 24/7, rapidly changing society does not exactly make it easy to be well rested. And if that was not enough, it is not uncommon for people to brag about how little sleep they get by.
So, people are tired, but are they dangerous?
When it comes to driving, many are. You do not have to go out driving for there to be a problem since even small yawning can take your mind off the road and dull your reaction time. Then there is also "microsleeping," four to six seconds snoozes you might not even be aware that you take when driving drowsy.
An alarming issue
flying in the sleepy accidents are particularly frightening because they are more likely 1 to cause injury and death than other types of accidents. Indeed, drowsiness impairs reaction time, vision, hand-eye coordination, awareness, decision making, judgment and inhibition of drivers.
And it affects a driver more than you probably think. Being awake for 24 hours straight is the equivalent of having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent. (The legal limit is 0.08 in all states). 2 Moreover, just having a beer when you're running on four hours of sleep is the same as downing a set of six-pack. 3
the deadly combination of driving and sleepiness is shockingly common view of the fact that
- 60 percent of Americans admit to driving in drowsy at least once during the past year.
- 37 percent said they were asleep at the wheel 4.
- drowsy driving is behind the accidents about one in eight who send people to hospital and one in every six fatal accidents. 5
- most estimates peg accidents drowsy driving fatalities to 6,000 per year. 6
who is at risk?
Although anyone skimps on sleep is likely to be a drowsy driver, some people are more prone to falling asleep at the wheel. They include:
- Young (Only 20 percent of adolescents get the recommended nine hours of sleep each night while college students on average less than six hours a night.)
- shift workers on the job for long periods or through the night
- commercial drivers
- business travelers
- people with disabilities sleep not diagnosed or treated
- people working over 60 hours per week
flying drowsiness accidents usually involve male solo drivers whose vehicles run on a road great speed. These types of accidents are most likely to occur between midnight and dawn or in the middle of the afternoon. Unlike other accidents, no skid marks or other signs that the driver tried to brake on the site of an accident of drowsy driving.
The signs you need more Shut
Your body gives you plenty of warning signs that it is running on empty. If you are one of the following methods, pull ASAP.
- Daydreaming or having wandering or disconnected thoughts Having trouble focusing, frequent blinking and feel like your eyelids are heavy. .
- trouble remembering the last few miles driven; missing exits or traffic signs.
- Yawning repeatedly or rub your eyes.
- Having trouble keeping your head high.
- Drifting from your lane, tailgating or hitting a rumble strip.
- Feeling restless and irritable.
What's a driver to do?
there's a lot you and, believe it or not, some cars- can do when it comes to stay awake and alert behind the wheel.
to start, many new cars today emit warnings when leaving your lane or tailgating another car. 7 other models have systems that push drivers to rest if they detect a change in their driving style. "If a driver still leads in the left lane, but suddenly cut on the right lane, the system can respond," says Wade Newton, director of communications for Auto Alliance, an organization that represents 12 major automakers.
A car that integrates the technology described Newton is the Lane Keeping his 2013 Ford Fusion system. Its interior camera monitors the road markings at all hours of the day; if you drift out of line, the steering wheel vibrates to shake you awake. Others go further by automatically steering your car where it belongs.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Benz Attention Assist and use technology to track sophisticated system that evaluates your unique driving style. Comparing more than 70 data points such as how often you use the controls in your car with the sweetness of the road, it is able to trigger an alarm when he noticed a change in behavior.
That said, an ounce of prevention is -tech not always the best place to start. Use these safe driving tips:
- Sleep-i.e a good night. seven to nine hours before a big reader.
- Stop driving during hours of normal sleep.
- Take a break at least every 100 miles (or two hours).
- Avoid driving alone for long distances and consider taking turns with a friend.
- Find a safe place to take a nap for 15 to 20 minutes if you feel tired. (Research continues to tout the benefits of power naps.)
- Jure off alcohol and drugs that induce sleepiness. (These include several kinds of cold tablets, antihistamines and so-antidepressants always check your medication labels to be sure.)
Two things that research shows are not very effective? Inserting music and opening windows. Then there is the caffeine: It is true that a cup or two of java can up your alertness for several hours, it takes about half an hour for the stimulus to work. The solution? Pull a safe place and do a quick nap until it comes in.
Prolonged periods of feeling erased may be a sign that you need to change your lifestyle, a review doc of your medications or have a sleep study. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that adequate rest is a luxury rather than a necessity that could save your life and others. "
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Drowsy Driving - 19 states and the District of Columbia from 09 to 2010
2 National Sleep Foundation key messages / Talking Points on drowsy driving
3 National Sleep Foundation key messages / Talking Points on drowsy driving
4 National Sleep Foundation: drowsy driving
5 AAA Foundation for traffic safety: Asleep at the wheel: prevalence and impact of drowsy driving, November 2010
6 CDC: drowsy driving: Asleep at the wheel
7 You can see how this works in www.youtube.com/user/driverassists
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