Driving Tired: Not a Joking Matter

Have you ever heard someone joke about falling asleep at the wheel?

Have you ever driven tired?

When you did so, did you think of it as dangerous or funny?

Today, I am going to explain why you should not drive tired. I will talk about the dangers of driving tired, a car accident involving a driver who fell asleep at the wheel, and simple solutions to avoid this problem. What makes me so passionate about this issue? When I was 18 years old, a senior in high school, my mom and brother died when someone fell asleep at the wheel. If they had known how dangerous this could be, maybe they would have made different decisions.

My family members are not the only people that have tragically lost their lives in this manner. According to the CDC’s website, 7,500 people die each year in the U.S. due to drowsy or tired driving. You may say that you get enough sleep, so this will never happen to you, but what you may not realize is that according to the same article, if you sleep less than six hours a day, are prone to snoring, or known for unintentionally falling asleep during a regular day, you are more likely to fall asleep at the wheel than those who do not follow these patterns. This means you are already as risk. On episode 152 of Mythbusters, which aired November 3, 2010, they did a field test to find out what was more dangerous: driving drunk or driving tired. To do this, they used a closed course with stop and go elements and other distractions. They ran the course once after drinking enough alcohol to be legally drunk in their state according to a breathalyzer. Then, after sobering up, they stayed awake for 30 hours without the aid of stimulants and drove the course again. The results were this: they were far worse drivers when they were sleep deprived proving that not only is it dangerous to drive when tired, it can be more dangerous than driving under the influence.

There are steps you can take to avoid or lower your risk of driving drowsy. First, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you should avoid driving during the peek times for tired driving which are from midnight to 6am and the late afternoon. Of course, you should avoid driving any time of day if you are tired when possible. Another suggestion is to make sure you are well rested before driving long hours such as when taking vacations. If they had followed this one step, my mom and brother may still be alive today.

I want you to imagine for just a little bit for me. Imagine that in one moment half of your family is gone. How does that feel? Now, think about that and answer this question, “Would you want to be the cause of that pain for someone else?” My mom, her roommate, and my brother were on their way to visit my aunt for a few days when they were in an accident that would change all of our lives. Rather than leaving in the morning, they had decided to leave around midnight thinking this would just simply get them to their destination earlier than planned. It was decided that they would drive in shifts. It was my mom’s roommate’s turn to drive as they drove into the early morning hours through New Mexico. As my mom slept in the passenger seat and my brother curled up in the back, her roommate fell asleep at the wheel, crashing into a guardrail. It happened so fast that she didn’t have the chance to react. My mom died on impact, and I am told my brother did too as he was ejected out of the rear window of the car, breaking his neck in several places. They most likely did not even know what had happened, and according to doctors, may not have even woken up. The woman driving had to live with the knowledge that she had just killed her best friend as well as her best friend’s son. My sister and I lost half of our family, and my dad lost his son in an instant. My sister and I have had to experience things such as getting married and having babies without our mother by our side. My dad does not get to see his only son live the life he had dreamed of having. Most tragic of all, this was completely avoidable.

Driving tired is not a joke. It can take lives.

As you plan your long trips, or even a trip to the grocery store, think before you drive. How tired are you? If you are too tired to do so, DO NOT DRIVE. If you think there is a possibility of getting drowsy on a long drive, make sure there are others to talk to, find music to listen to, or find places to stop and nap such as rest stops, gas stations, or even hotels.