Getting Through Your Divorce and on With Your Life

Drowsiness And Driving: A Bad Mix

13 February 2015

Celina Henry

If you have ever been involved in a car accident, you probably know how overwhelming and frustrating this experience can be, but if you're not careful you could end up in another accident down the road. According to Drowsy Driving, approximately 100,000 car accidents occur each year from drowsiness. While being tired isn't against the law, feeling tired can be dangerous if you are behind the wheel of a car. Here are three things you should know about driving while you are tired.

It Presents Risks To Everyone

Feeling drowsy could not only cause you to lose control of your car, but it could also be affecting other drivers you come in contact with on the road. Drowsy Driving reports that approximately 4% of drivers that commute back and forth to work daily admit that they are always drowsy when they drive. While you cannot control what others drivers do, you can control what you do.

Driving while you are tired has similar effects as drinking while intoxicated. Sleepy driving can cause:

• Impaired judgment
• Slower reflexes
• Increased road rage or anxiety
• Loss of focus

While you might not think that this will ever affect you, statistics prove otherwise. Driving while feeling drowsy is a huge problem in the U.S. and it affects many people every year. To make sure that you are not part of this problem, you may need to make some changes in your lifestyle.

Ways To Prevent Falling Asleep at the Wheel

Getting enough sleep is probably the best thing you can do to avoid falling asleep while driving, but even that is not enough for everyone. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends seven to eight hours of sleep each night for adults. If you have a teenage child that will be driving, he or she should get nine to ten hours of sleep each night. In addition to sleeping the right amount, you may also want to:

• Avoid taking medications that may cause you to feel sleepy if you are planning on driving
• Visit a doctor to find out if you have a sleeping disorder and seek treatment for it
• Drink a caffeinated beverage, such as coffee, before you get ready to drive
• Rest before you drive, if necessary

If you are getting ready to drive and feel tired, or if you are already behind the wheel, pull over and take a break. Some people benefit tremendously from power naps, which are short naps that last 15 to 20 minutes. A quick nap might give you enough energy to have the ability to focus while you drive.

Repercussions of Falling Asleep While Driving

Accidents happen for many reasons, but drowsy driving seems to be a common reason for many car accidents, and there are repercussions of this. The first thing this could affect is you. If you fall asleep while driving, you could easily crash into a ditch, telephone pole, or anything else. When one-car accidents take place, the police often speculate that the cause was falling asleep.

While you may get lucky by not hitting another car, there is always a chance you could end up running into someone else. It could be another car, a pedestrian crossing the street, or a person on a bicycle. When another person is involved, you open up the risk of getting sued. On the other hand, anytime you drive you could open up risks that other drivers might fall asleep and hit you. The problem with sleepiness and driving is that someone could get hurt or even killed.

If you are involved in a car accident caused by a sleepy driver, you may want to hire a car accident attorney for help. Car accident attorneys help innocent drivers, but they also help people that fall asleep and cause accidents while driving. You can learn more by contacting an attorney in your area.

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