{"id":5475,"date":"2018-08-07T10:38:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T10:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/?p=5475"},"modified":"2024-11-19T18:26:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:26:11","slug":"are-you-at-risk-of-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/are-you-at-risk-of-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you at risk of falling asleep at the wheel?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every day, an estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ghsa.org\/resources\/new-report-spotlights-dangers-drowsy-driving\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">83.6 million people<\/a> in the U.S. drive drowsy. They\u2019re taking a huge risk, as <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.aaa.com\/2018\/02\/drowsy-driving-dont-asleep-wheel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> shows that missing just two to three hours of sleep can more than quadruple a driver\u2019s risk of a crash.<\/p>\n<p>Fatigue poses such a danger to drivers that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently <a href=\"https:\/\/crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov\/Api\/Public\/ViewPublication\/810637\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">expanded its definition of impaired driving<\/a> to include not only drunk, drugged, and distracted, but also drowsy driving. In 2017, the National Safety Council (NSC) declared fatigue as a \u201chidden but deadly epidemic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Fatigue-related collisions CAN be prevented by understanding the importance of adequate risk, the risk factors and the steps to take to avoid driving tired.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do we need sleep? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Failure to get enough sleep is directly linked to increased crash risk and research has also shown that it\u2019s a threat to health. A lack of sleep is linked to several chronic diseases including diabetes, coronary heart disease and increased risk of stroke.<\/p>\n<p>On a day-to-day basis, lack of sleep can impair the ability to think clearly and affect reaction time, attention, concentration and judgment. In fact, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tac.vic.gov.au\/road-safety\/safe-driving\/tips-and-tools\/fighting-fatigue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> shows it can affect driving ability as much as alcohol can.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Falling asleep at the wheel: the risk factors <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many factors can increase a person\u2019s risk of falling asleep at the wheel, including:<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Driver-related<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Driving long distances<\/li>\n<li>Driving through the night, or in the early afternoon (particularly after eating a large meal), or when you would usually be asleep<\/li>\n<li>Taking medication that can cause drowsiness<\/li>\n<li>Health conditions<\/li>\n<li>Age\u2014young people are more likely to stay up late, sleep too little, and drive at night<\/li>\n<li>Diet, fitness, and lifestyle<\/li>\n<li>Driving alone, particularly on long, monotonous roads<\/li>\n<li>Drinking alcohol or taking drugs (including the evening before driving)<\/li>\n<li>Having a hectic lifestyle\u2014this can affect a person temporarily; for example, around the holidays, when juggling social occasions and work<\/li>\n<li>Family and personal issues, such as a new baby in the family, money worries, relationship problems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Work-related<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Length of work shifts<\/li>\n<li>Time of day<\/li>\n<li>Lack of adequate rest periods<\/li>\n<li>Volume of workload<\/li>\n<li>Frequent traveling, particularly through different time zones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Planning trips to avoid fatigue: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get a good night\u2019s sleep before making a long trip<\/li>\n<li>Factor in the natural body clock dips\u2014during the night and early afternoon<\/li>\n<li>Eat only light meals before driving<\/li>\n<li>Take breaks of at least 15 minutes for every two hours of driving\u2014 these breaks should be used to relax, not catch up on other work<\/li>\n<li>Get out of the vehicle to stretch and get some fresh air during breaks<\/li>\n<li>Stay hydrated and eat sensibly during rest breaks<\/li>\n<li>Keep the vehicle well-ventilated and at a comfortable temperature<\/li>\n<li>Consider overnight accommodations or alternative transport where appropriate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>AVOID: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drinking alcohol before driving, including the evening before<\/li>\n<li>Making long trips after a tiring day; for example, after being at a conference<\/li>\n<li>Driving immediately after flying; and especially avoid driving after flying across time zones or overnight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recognize the warning signs of fatigue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At times, you\u00a0might be aware that you\u2019re feeling tired and be able to pinpoint the reason, such as a new baby in the family. At other times, you might not realize how tired you are.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re sleep deprived, the effects may become more noticeable when you\u2019re driving, particularly on a long trip or at night. It\u2019s important to be aware of the warning signs and to not ignore them. Common signs of being tired while driving include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Difficulty concentrating<\/li>\n<li>Yawning<\/li>\n<li>Heavy eyes<\/li>\n<li>Blinking more than usual<\/li>\n<li>Neck muscles relaxing, causing the head to droop<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty remembering the last few miles of a trip<\/li>\n<li>Varying speed for no reason<\/li>\n<li>Delayed reactions<\/li>\n<li>Drifting in the lane<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What to do if you feel tired while driving <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important not to rely on \u201cquick-fix\u201d solutions such as opening the window or having an energy drink. If you feel tired during a trip, an emergency step is to have a cup of coffee then take a \u201cpower nap\u201d of 20 minutes. The effects of the caffeine and a brief sleep can increase alertness for a short period of time. Other emergency steps are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pull over and stop in a safe place\u2014even if not due a break<\/li>\n<li>Get some fresh air, get out of the vehicle, and move around<\/li>\n<li>Perform some stretching exercises<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, these are emergency steps ONLY, not steps to be taken regularly in place of sleep. The only true cure for fatigue is sleep, everything else is a temporary countermeasure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn more: <\/strong>The advice in this article is extracted from eDriving\u2019s white paper <em>Awake at the Wheel<\/em>, designed to help fleet managers and drivers reduce the risk of fatigue-related crashes. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/awake-at-the-wheel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a> to download the guide for free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every day, an estimated 83.6 million people in the U.S. drive drowsy. They\u2019re taking a huge risk, as research shows that missing just two to three hours of sleep can more than quadruple a driver\u2019s risk of a crash. Fatigue poses such a danger to drivers that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":5476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-driving-for-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.edriving.com\/three60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}