It was around 3 p.m. in the afternoon as my friend and her brother and mom and made the three-hour drive to her grandparents’ house. My friend’s brother was behind the wheel, and they were about halfway through the drive. As the midafternoon sun beat down and the highway stretched into oblivion, my friend and her mom started to doze off.
What they didn’t realize was that her brother was dozing off, too.
Seconds – maybe even minutes – later, my friend’s mother jerked awake as she noticed the car speeding toward the middle of an overpass. Her yell woke my friend and her brother. He correcting his steering and with disbelief said, “Did I fall asleep?” His afternoon snooze caused the car to cross three lanes of highway and sent it speeding toward a concrete wall. They all realized in that moment that they very likely could have almost died. She was still shaken as she related the story to me.
Sleeping while driving isn’t actually all that rare. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and 12.5 billion in monetary losses. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep related crashes are most common in young people, especially men, adults with children, and shift workers.
Some states are starting to take drowsy driving very seriously. For example, in New Jersey, a driver that has been without sleep for 24 hours is considered to be driving recklessly, in the same class as an intoxicated driver. Arkansas classifies “fatigued driving” as an offense under negligent homicide.
Here’s how you can prevent a sleep-related crash from happening to you:
Don’t drive while sleep deprived. It’s recommended that people get at least eight hours of sleep at night. If you’ve pulled an all-nighter or only got a few hours of shut eye, it isn’t wise to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.Don’t drink and drive. This may seem obvious, but even one drink can make a person more likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.If you can help it, avoid driving late at night. This is when most sleep-related crashes occur.Always be alert and pay attention to the cars around you. You may not be sleepy, but the driver beside you might be.Sip on some caffeine. Whether it’s coffee, soda or Red Bull, caffeine can help on a long drive.Be careful when taking medicine before driving. Drowsiness can be a common side effect to many different medications, so always check your medicine’s label.Finally, if you notice that you’re often drowsy, see a sleep specialist. You could have sleep apnea, a disorder that prevents you from getting restful sleep. It can lead to several serious health problems if not corrected.A sleep-related crash can happen to anyone, and if it does, you’ll want to make sure you have the proper insurance protection. Review your policy and get familiar with the coverage you have. Even though you can’t fully prevent a crash, you can at least have solid protection.
Drowsy driving is a reality that surrounds us on the road, and we should all take the proper precautions to prevent a sleep-related crash from happening to us or someone we love. Always use good judgment when getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. If you don’t, you may fall asleep and never wake up.
As an undergrad, Allison Bradford felt doomed to live life as a starving poet. Today, she is relieved that professional writing doesn’t necessarily require a vow of poverty. Allison now happily blogs for AutoInsurance.US, covering industry news and motor trends. 
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