How to Stay Alert While Driving

Driving drowsy is as dangerous as driving drunk. Numbers are hard to pin down, but experts at the U.S. Department of Transportation put conservative estimates at 40,000 injuries and 150 fatalities per year as a result of drivers' sleepiness.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Inflatable Pillows
• Coffees
• Teas
• Caffeine Pills
• Spill-resistant Mugs
• Tapes Or CDs

1. Get a good night's sleep, and plan around your body clock so you drive at the times of the day when you are most alert.

2. Take a 10- to 15-minute break to exercise, stretch or walk briskly after every 2 hours you drive.

3. Let someone else do a share of the driving. Divide the driving into blocks of no more than about 4 hours for each driver.

4. Eat regularly to keep blood-sugar levels even, but be mindful of what you eat. A candy bar won't help much once the initial sugar buzz wears off. To stay alert, the body requires good nutrition.

5. Drink coffee or tea (or another form of caffeine) for a temporary fix. Keep in mind that caffeine does not take the place of adequate sleep.

6. Don't drink alcohol.

7. Avoid medicines that make you drowsy, including antihistamines, some antidepressants, cold and cough medications, and some prescription medicines. If the label warns, "Do not operate heavy machinery," you are being warned not to drive a car.

8. Learn to recognize drowsiness. Among the signs: You keep yawning, your head nods, your mind wanders, you feel eyestrain, or your eyes want to close or have trouble staying focused. It all means that you need a break from driving.

9. Take a nap if you're sleepy, even if you can't get to a bed. You'll have to judge your surroundings, but you're probably safer napping for a half-hour in a locked car pulled over to the side of the road than you are driving drowsy.

Tips & Warnings

• Some drugs cause drowsiness for the first few days, so take extra care when you start taking any new medicine.
• If you ignore signs of drowsy driving, you not only put yourself at risk, but also your passengers and everyone else on the road.
• Watch for signs of a sleep disorder: falling asleep at inappropriate times (such as at a movie theater), snoring loudly, feeling tired when you wake up, or disrupting sleep because of breathing problems (a condition called obstructive sleep apnea).

[AuntieAndrea]

on 8/9/2009 eating things with mint helps like tic tacs.

[severie]

on 2/9/2009 Chew gum. It works the temple area and activates the blood circulation in the eye region. It certainly keeps me alert for hours.

[cateluv]

on 2/4/2009 OK, it is this simple. In order to stay alert while driving, don't drive when tire, don't drive when intoxicated, don't talk or text on your cell and pay attention to your driving. When talking to a passenger it is not necessary to turn your head and face them. If they require lip-reading due to lack of the ability to hear, it is they who should position themselves in order to more easily see your mouth. Otherwise, get an interpreter.

Also, if the radio is loud, it will not keep you awake. It will distract you.

[shibyleth]

on 2/4/2009 Trail-mix works for me - nibbling keeps me awake.

on 1/12/2007 When driving long distance, take a lemon along. Poke a small hole in the lemon and suck from it when you feel drowsy. It's a very fast wake up.