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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.

TDI Upcoming Events/Training Calendar

 

Low-cost OSHA 10-Hour General Industry classes start in Austin on September 25-26, 2018

Those who successfully complete both days of the course will receive a completion card. See OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Class for more information.

2018 Regional Safety Seminars

Affordable training on the following topics:
Elements of effective safety meetings and training methods
Incident investigations – getting to the root of the problem in four steps
Understanding the requirements of fall protection and working-walking surfaces

Next Regional Safety Seminars: August 14, Austin; August 23, Dallas. Register, view schedule

Free OSHA 10-Hour Construction Classes

Participants who complete the course get a completion card. Classes are taught in English and Spanish, and are held in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio.

Check out our online calendar and sign up today

Join the Safe + Sound Campaign, August 13-19

Safe + Sound Week 2018 is a nationwide event to raise awareness and understanding of the value of workplace safety and health programs. Visit OSHA’s Safe + Sound webpage to register your organization as a participant and get ideas on how to recognize the week in your workplace.

 


 

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