Staying awake while driving

by Bob Gillespie
Fatigue is probably the most underestimated traffic problem. Research shows that 10 - 20% of all serious collisions are caused from over-fatigue or falling asleep behind the wheel. These are all cases where alcohol is not a factor.

Dozing off behind the wheel is often a gradual process of which the driver is unaware. The brains' activity progressively decreases, making it difficult for the driver to make the correct decision, which is to stop and take a rest. Apparently, over 60% of all drivers have at least once fallen asleep behind the wheel.

A condition called sleep apnea is quite often the cause of drowsiness behind the wheel. Do you know how I know this? I have it myself, and I use a device called a cpap machine during sleep to deal with the problem.

If you wake up every morning feeling like you've been hit by a truck, ie very, very tired, and you have trouble staying awake in the middle of the afternoon, you may have sleep apnea.

Here's something I came across recently which I believe is quite new on the market - it's an ear piece that a driver wears that gives off a buzzing sound if the driver starts to doze off. If the drivers head slumps over, it immediately sounds the alarm.

I think it's pretty neat, but I don't know if there is a North American distributor yet. If I find out, I will post it here. Here's the European website http://www.safety-ear.com