A lack of sleep can cost you money!
 

Being very exhausted right now, I thought this would be something I'd like to share.

Stay safe out there and drive smart!

"Drowsy driving: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue annually, leading to an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in losses. An AAA survey showed 41 percent of drivers admit to having “fallen asleep or nodded off” while driving at some point in their lives."

A lack of sleep is likely costing you money - Zack Hurst - With Transamerica Agency Network

I once talked to a woman who regularly left the city for her cottage each Friday right after work and admitted she'd fallen asleep at the wheel 2 or 3 times. Couldn't believe it. Each time woken up by the sound of the car going onto the gravel shoulder of the highway.

You'd think that after the FIRST time she had to change her shorts she'd have taken some steps to prevent it happening again. Nope. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

About a month ago I completely fell asleep at the wheel driving home from work at about 11 at I had woken up at 6 in the morning that day. Luckily nobody was around.

Long ago driving 2200 miles nonstop to New Mexico from NYC with a friend, she fell asleep behind the wheel. I wanted her to stop for a nap. "No," she said. I offered to take over. "NO," she said. It was the middle of the night, maybe 1am. Out in the wide-open middle West, maybe Missouri. I fell asleep in the passenger seat. For reasons I never did figure out, I woke up later to find her asleep behind the wheel and the car traveling full speed up a deserted exit ramp. I woke her. She stopped the car shortly before we flew through a stop sign into some corn field or something. No damage to the car.

I make it a habit to not drive if I'm drowsy. I will take a nap in the car if I have to (I've done it before). If I expect a few hours ahead of time that I may need to drive but may not be as alert as I'd like, I load up on caffeine. It usually works. When it doesn't, nap time. I started that habit when I dozed off for a second on the way home from a very very long day at work. Luckily no issues from it (didn't even leave my lane) but it put me in my place.

I try to remember that I could KILL someone else (and maybe their entire family?) if I drive while drowsy. I wouldn't want to be killed or have my family killed by a drowsy driver so I do what I can to avoid being that drowsy driver.

If only we could find a way to rid the roads of drunks.

Never fell asleep, but I once had a lapse of some kind.
Driving home very tired after a busy week with long and very crowded commutes, I found myself driving on the hard shoulder very close to the guard rail at 120 km/h (75 mph).
As the next exit was the one I needed anyway, I drove straight home.
From then on I had glucose tablets in the car and took one before taking off when I was tired.

Late at night glucose does not help much.
When I feel fatigue creeping in I stop at the first available parking spot and close my eyes. Just 5 or 10 minutes of that is enough to fight off the drowsiness for another hour or so, even if I don't actually sleep. Cut the music too.
Relieving your brain from the constant bombardment of sight and sound for a while is all it takes.

One time, I was driving to meet my dad in the town halfway between where he lived and my town. He and Mom were divorced for two years before they got back together and he used to come down, pick up my autistic brother on Friday, and then meet one of us halfway on Sunday.

I have horrible time (and everything else) management, so instead of driving my customary fifty-five in a sixty-five, I was speeding.

The highway patrol tried to pull me over. I was sleepy and thought they were trying to pass, so I changed lanes. Being sleepy, I did not think better than speeding up to change lanes.

When the highway patrol also changed lanes, I changed back over.

Believe it or not, when in a high-speed chase, I fell asleep.

I woke up on the shoulder, steered back, and then pulled over.

They cited me for driving eleven over, which was a worse ticket than ten over, but also for "improper lane usage."

After over a decade, this is the first time that I thought that I could have just stayed on the shoulder and come to a stop.

Speeding just makes you late when you get pulled over and you waste even more money.

A lack of sleep can cost you money!

No kidding. I've had sleep apnea since I was a kid, didn't get diagnosed until I was 30. That's a little late to change anything.