Dear friends,

Driving when tired, sleepy and drowsy is extremely dangerous not only for the driver but as well for other persons using the roads. Drowsiness is considered as a major cause of road traffic accidents. According to some estimates drowsiness is responsible for approximately 25% of car collisions and 16% of near miss accidents.

Sleepiness diminishes driver's attention, concentration, judgment and reaction time. If the tired driver consummates alcohol then the result may be catastrophic as all negative effects of drowsiness on driving are enhanced significantly by alcohol.

It is important to know the signs and understand when you are tired and drowsy and therefore a dangerous driver. You should remember some common signs indicating driver's drowsiness such as yawning, a feeling of heavy eyes, dim vision, fatigue, unintentional variations of car speed, delayed reaction times, humming in ears and tendency to get asleep.   

Read more about driving and being tired, sleepy and drowsy in the article Driving tired and sleepy is dangerous and may harm or kill people that you will find attached with our 89th Progressive Insurance Newsletter.

What can you do to prevent tiredness, sleepiness and drowsiness when driving? Get enough sleep, at least 7 to 8 hours every night, avoid alcohol when you know that you will be driving afterwards, avoid driving late in the night and if necessary plan for overnight stops, make sure by asking your doctor that medicaments that you are taking are not interfering with your attention or cause sleepiness, plan ahead your driving and make sure to make stops at least every two hours, share the driving whenever this is possible and consummate caffeine as it increases alertness in people who are tired.

By improving the sleep of the drivers, a significant percentage of fatal and non fatal road accidents can be prevented. The first step is to increase awareness for this very common problem. We can all help in decreasing the number of sleepy and dangerous drivers in the streets by spreading out the messages and educating our children and family in general about this important issue.  

Our Quote:

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."

Vernon Law