Drowsy Driving a Hidden Threat

Young drivers may not realize it, but driving after having a few drinks didn’t used to have the social stigma and legal penalties it does now. Thirty years ago — before Mothers Against Drunk Driving began its campaign — not many people gave driving after a few much thought.

Sleep experts and legislators now say this is where the country is when it comes to the dangers of driving while sleepy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving is a factor in 100,000 crashes, 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths annually. The National Sleep Foundation says it’s worse than that, as it says police data isn’t sufficient and many instances go unreported. Experts there put the numbers at 71,000 injuries and 5,500 deaths each year.

The NSF released a poll last month that said 54% of adult drivers admit to driving while drowsy, while 28% said they have actually fallen asleep while driving. The Harvard Medical School’s Sleep Division estimates that 250,000 drivers fall asleep at the wheel daily, and that the problem is particularly acute among young drivers.

Comments

It's also the routine of taking the same drive every day to and from work that's conducive to lower concentration and drowsiness.

It just comes down as everyone's responsibility. If you get drowsy, pull over, get a cup of coffee, splash some cold water on your face, smoke, chew some gum, play your music loud, call a friend (using your handsfree, of course :p), even take a different route.

How about a seat that shakes and beeps at random intervals? :)

In New Jersey, it's called Maggie's Law if I remembered correctly. You face jail time and it is considered as serious crime.

For some reasons, NJ (and probably CA) always have stricter laws and regulations including other fields (e.g., environmental regs).

We have recently finished laboratory testing of a device (now commercially available) that prevents microsleep/falling asleep and makes drivers 25% to 40% more alert. (Tests results printed in the National Defense Industry Association GVSETS 2009 Symposium.) Drowsy drivers can't fall asleep when using this device. (This is American made, by the way.)

A sleepy or fatigued driver is a danger to himself (or herself) and others. Although you should never drive when you are sleepy, there is now a device on the market, the Cold Diffusion Fatigue Fighter (CDFF), that won't let you fall asleep while driving. Unlike devices that startle you awake when you start to fall asleep at the wheel (risky in many ways), the CDFF keeps you awake and increases alertness.

 Don’t drive if you know you are sleepy.
 If you feel drowsy while you are driving, pull off the road and get some sleep.
 Understand that if you are drowsy, even if you manage to stay awake, your reaction time and your judgment is impaired.
 If you think that you are AT RISK of becoming drowsy, attach the CDFF to your bare shin and turn it on. The CDFF has a programmed cycle that uses temperature variations to prevent your body from establishing the core body temperature required for sleep. You simply won't fall asleep while using the device. There is also a documented 25% to 40% alertness increase in fatigued individuals.
 This device has only been tested for an eight hour period. It is not intended to allow you to stay awake forever. Always remember that is it dangerous to go without sleep for long periods of time.
 If used as recommended, the CDFF will keep you from falling asleep at the wheel, make you more alert while driving, and allow you to get safely home or to the next rest stop where you can stop and get sleep.

• This is also ideal for studying while you are tired. Students who want to get in an extra hour or two of ALERT studying will do better with this device.
• The temptation to use chemical stimulants as an alertness aid is made unnecessary with the CDFF.
• Another use is for people who have very tedious monitoring work. This increases alertness for boring, mundane tasks (documented tests available).