Drowsy driving is dangerous yet many of us are unaware of it. Study for more information.
About 100 thousands crashes that were reported (this is an conservative estimation),
are due to drowsy driving, that 4 people, each hour, die on US roads and half of them, are because of drowsy driving. That's preventable. As most of the people are in their prime, that has to be brought to people's attention, that it has to stop.
Statistics show that 60% of all adult drivers have driven while felling drowsy, while 37% percent have at one time fallen asleep while driving which is a worrying situation. In fact that 13% of those who have fallen asleep while driving have done so at least once a month. Do not forget that estimated 100,000 road crashes were as a result of drowsy driving. These accidents have resulted in 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion monetary losses.
The people who are more likely to be included in this category are those between 18-29 years, and male have a higher percentage (56% versus 45%),also shift workers are at the higher risk than regular worker, not to mention those with kids.
When I give talk to people I say, how many people have fallen asleep while they were driving, and maybe 1 or 2 hands will go up, and I said how many people travel from point A to point B, and not be aware of how we got there. There will be many more hands going up. Guess what? That's what we call "drowsy driving". They should do everything possible to prevent it, because it kills.
We all should take a good night's sleep everynight, especially night before the long trip. Between midnight and 6 am is when most of the drowsy driving occurs. Be extra careful driving around midafternoon hour, as that is the peak time for sleepiness. Take a break, at least every 2 hours on the long trips, share driving responsibilities Most importantly, if you drive for many hours on the highway, your thoughts inevitably become dreamy, it sort of loses touch with reality, please STOP, because you are about to die from crashing. You should stop and pull over. A couple of other tips is a cup of coffee can be alerting. Two, a nap, 15 or 20 mins nap on a long trip can give you alertness which can last 150 to 180 mins or so. The problem that drivers get into is, when they want to pull over and take a nap, they can't find the service area. It's 15 to 20 mins far, and it is the period of danger. So you should take any ways possible to stay alert, before you get into that state.
Exercise the safety precaution measures above, and your life has been saved before you even know it. You, can make a difference.
