You know the feeling. Lulled by the hypnotic rhythm of the car’s tires rolling along the pavement, you can’t keep your eyes open. You open the windows for fresh air. You pass a familiar landmark and can’t remember driving the last five miles. You crank the volume on the car stereo, but it doesn’t help. You’re on the last leg of your trip and you’re determined to stay awake. Sleep, however, is winning the battle. You’re startled by the sound of your tires hitting the rumble strips on the side of the road.

Some drowsy drivers have the good fortune to regain control of their cars. Others aren’t so lucky. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that sleepy drivers cause at least 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year. According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, fall-asleep crashes are likely to be more serious, possibly due to high speeds and the driver’s delayed reaction time. In 1996, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety surveyed 101 members of the National Trooper Coalition for Traffic Safety and found that a drowsy driver is actually more dangerous than a drunk driver. The reason: A drunk driver will see the red light that he or she went through and stop. A drowsy driver may never see the traffic light.

Drowsy drivers are people with “sleep debt.” Sleep debt can be incurred through untreated sleep-related problems or from society’s self-inflicted 24-hour lifestyle. People find extra hours in the day by stealing hours from sleeping time. Those with sleep debt, for example, can be shift-workers, truck drivers, airline pilots, students pulling all-nighters to finish a paper, people staying up late to go out with friends, or with untreated sleep apnea syndrome or narcolepsy.

Sleeping less then four hours a night impairs the ability to function at peak performance. Research that shift workers receive approximately 1.5 hours less sleep than a dayshift worker every day. The midnight to 8 a.m. shift, in fact, carries the greatest risks. Sleep is the only cure for sleep debt.

How can you tell if you or someone you know is a drowsy driver?

Consider these questions:

• Have you ever had an off road accident or a near miss?
• Have you ever dozed off at the wheel?
• Have you ever had trouble keeping your head up while driving?
• While driving, have you ever entered into a trance state, not remembering the last few miles you had driven?
• Have you had difficulty keeping your eyes open?
• Have you ever missed a traffic sign?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, you may be a drowsy driver.

What can you do to help yourself from being a drowsy driver?

Protect yourself—and others—by considering these tips:

• Make sure you get a good night’s sleep, especially before taking a long trip.
• Drive with a partner and stop every 100 miles or two hours
• Don’t mix alcohol or sedative medications with driving.
• If you think you have a sleep disorder, visit your doctor to see if a sleep study might be necessary.

If you do feel fatigued on the road, stop at a well-lit rest stop and take a 15- to 45-minute nap or switch drivers. Try not to drive during your normal lull period, which is typically between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. two and six a.m. Also, don’t count on the radio or having the windows open to keep you awake. A couple cups of coffee will give you a very short boost—just long enough to get you to that rest stop.

If you would like more information on drowsy driving visit the National Sleep Foundation at www.sleepfoundation.org. You will also find other helpful links that are related to sleeping, such as The Sleep Well web site by going to www.stanford.edu/~dement/.

What do you think of Better Sleep Online? Share your comments—or ask a question—of the editors. Send e-mail to Cindy Whitcomb.

For more information on sleep and sleep disorders, check out the National Sleep Foundation's Web Site at www.sleepfoundation.org