Sleepdriving

It’s surely happened to you whether you want to admit to it or not. Driving drowsy. A new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 45-percent of adults have struggled to stay awake while driving. 

It’s a bigger deal than you may think. Drowsy driving causes an average of 328,000 motor vehicle accidents, including 6,400 fatal crashes.

“Driving while drowsy is similar to drunk driving with regards to the delays in reaction time and impairment in decision-making. Drowsy driving can be deadly, yet it is 100 percent preventable,” said Dr. Kelly A. Carden, President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

The Warning Signs of Drowsy Driving:
Frequent yawning or inability to keep your eyes open
Catching yourself “nodding off” or having trouble keeping your head up
Inability to remember driving the last few miles
Missing road signs or driving past your turn
Following too close to cars in front of you
Drifting into the other lane of traffic
Driving onto the “rumble strip” or the shoulder of the road

Here are ways to prevent driving drowsy:
Ensure that you get enough sleep before driving so that you can stay alert behind the wheel.

Avoid driving late at night or while alone, if possible, and share the driving with a passenger on long trips.

Use caffeine for a short-term boost in alertness.

Pull over at a rest stop and take a nap if you begin to feel drowsy.
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Crack Wise-dom: Don't take drowsy driving as a "challenge". Be safe so you can crack wise with us for years to come...

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