5 Tips To Avoid Drowsy Driving

Driving while drowsy – due to lack of or poor-quality sleep, shift work, side effects from medications, or other factors – can impair judgment and reaction times, put motorists’ lives at risk, and raise employers’ costs…

Driving while drowsy – due to lack of or poor-quality sleep, shift work, side effects from medications, or other factors – can impair judgment and reaction times, put motorists’ lives at risk, and raise employers’ costs. You can help keep employees who drive for work safe from the effects of drowsy driving. Below are some tips for you and your employee’s.

1. Get plenty of sleep
The best way to avoid drowsy driving is to get enough sleep every night. For adults, that means seven to eight hours. Develop healthy sleep habits, like keeping a regular sleep schedule, not eating large meals and drinking caffeine before bedtime, removing smartphones and other electronic devices from the bedroom, and exercising during the day.

2. Avoid alcohol and sedatives
Never drink and drive. Even a small amount of alcohol can make you more tired and cause a lack of good judgement in a person who is already sleep-deprived. Check medication labels or ask a doctor or pharmacist if they cause sleepiness. If a medication might make you tired, consider using public transit or asking a friend to drive.

3. Talk to a doctor about sleep disorders
People with untreated insomnia, sleep apnea (where breathing repeatedly stops and starts), or other sleep disorders are more likely to fall asleep while driving. Tell employees to talk to their doctors about treating these illnesses.

4. Watch for signs of tiredness
Yawning, blinking often, “micro-sleeps” that cause the head-bobbing that happens before you nod off, not remembering the last few miles driven, and missing an exit are some signs of drowsy driving. If you start to do these things, pull over for the night, take a 20-minute nap in a safe place, or change drivers. Don’t rely on caffeine, the radio, opening a window, or other aids to stay alert. Report other drivers who shows signs of drowsiness, like drifting from lanes or hitting rumble strips.

5. Create a driver safety program
Long-haul drivers, shift workers, business travelers who change time zones often, and those who drive at night, during late afternoon, or from midnight to 6 a.m. are at greater risk for driving drowsy. Provide driver guidelines to help employees make smart decisions on the road.

Source: Texas Department of Insurance