4 safety habits for drivers to prevent driver fatigue
Keep up with these safety habits to prevent vicious vehicle accidents due to drowsy driving.
Being anything less than completely alert when driving, can be a high risk factor for accidents. Driver fatigue, is one of the leading causes for major road accidents. The most likely reasons for drivers’ fatigue includes
- Enormous levels of pressure on long distance drivers can make them skip on break between stops
- A by-product of drugs or alcohol abuse.
- Sleep apnea or sleep disorders
- Pressure to commute long distance for regular work
- Long commute for ongoing medical treatments
- Long distance travelling with the family while exhausted over the holidays.
Regardless of the reason, you have to be more responsible to avoid driving when not fully alert. Here are four important safety habits that can help you avoid being caught falling asleep behind the wheel.
Plan for plenty of rest ahead of driving – If you keep up with 7-8 hours of sleep before a lengthy driving session, the chances of drivers fatigue setting in before your next stop is highly unlikely. However, the chances of your staying awake on the journey significantly decreases on a sleep quota of 5 hours or less the night before.
Plan for frequent breaks – If you cannot plan for complete rest ahead of time, make sure you set out early enough to allow for frequent breaks along the way. In this circumstance, getting out of the vehicle and refreshing yourself at rest stops will allow you to break the monotony of the journey and prevent the onset of fatigue induced sleeping bouts while behind the wheel.
Plan a power nap – When taking a break from driving, you can also plan a short nap of 15 minutes to actively revive yourself before your next bout of driving. A power nap is in fact, more effective in breaking fatigue patterns than stretching your legs or splashing water on your face.
Rely on Caffeine –Caffeinated beverages can help you revive during monotonous rides. You can also combine the coffee with a power nap. In this scenario, take the beverage before your power nap so the caffeine can kick-start your system during the nap-time. Energy drinks might be more reliable for your caffeine source since the levels in coffee might vary at different diners or truck stops along the route.
If you witness or suffer through any vehicle accidents during a long commute, immediately call 911 for emergency assistance. Make sure to document the situation as much as possible including things like the vehicle plate which are included in any officers report are critical for you to take with you, they way you remember the accident happening, and last but not least what you feel and the individual injuries. Most importantly go to the doctor and get checked out, it is all too often that you feel things that you didn’t feel at the time of the accident way after 14 days and once you have let that time-lapse the chances of you winning a case or being properly compensated are greatly diminished do not let that happen to you call 305-305 HELP (4357) to learn more.
