The perils of drowsy driving

Long drives, especially at night, can be dangerous as drivers are more prone to doze off or be drowsy. In fact, the American Automobile Association lists “drowsiness” as one of the main causes of driver errors.

According to positivelycoffee.org, research undertaken for the UK Department of Transport showed that one in 10 crashes is due to drivers nodding off, which is twice the number of accidents caused by speeding.

In New Zealand, 134 fatal crashes and 1,703 injury crashes between 2002 and 2004 were attributed to driver fatigue, while 30 percent of single vehicle crashes were attributed to drowsy driving in Australia.

In Italy, meanwhile, 11.4 percent of driver deaths are attributed to sleep-related accidents.

All these statistics point to one thing: drowsy driving is a dangerous thing. Sleep deprivation, after all, slows down brain function. It impedes one’s ability to think and to handle stress and, as we all know, mental awareness is of utmost importance when driving.

The best way to avoid accidents from even occurring is, of course, to not drive at all when sleepy. There are, however, people who cannot avoid being drowsy on the road, as their jobs require them to do long drives at night.

Postivelycoffee.org lists some of the warning signs of drowsiness as constant yawning, tired or sore eyes or going out of focus, and difficulty in keeping one’s head up.

When you’re starting to have slow reactions, start going into erratic speed, lose concentration and start daydreaming, and have a difficulty remembering the last few kilometers or miles that you have traveled, then it’s high time to make that much needed break.

Positivelycoffee.org suggests that the best way to deal with drowsiness on the road is to pull over, drink one or two cups of coffee, and take a nap for 15 minutes.

It adds that both coffee and being allowed to nap “significantly reduced major and minor driving accidents and had a powerful effect in suppressing sleepiness and signs of drowsiness.”