Driving Drowsy
Perhaps driving a car is one of the most wonderful things that an individual does, it is a hobby for some individuals, in addition to being a way to get rid of thinking and life stresses, but at the same time it is a dangerous tool that may lead to death if used incorrectly, and we often hear black news of people who have not Pay attention while driving, and one of the most important causes of accidents is falling asleep while driving, so we will explain to you, dear reader, how to avoid drowsiness while driving, and how to maintain your attention while driving.
Causes of increased drowsiness and the desire to sleep
There are a number of reasons that increase drowsiness and may lead to the leader’s sleep, and it is preferable to get sufficient hours of sleep to rest the body at night, and the problem of shortage is increasing in various parts of the world due to the advanced civil changes, and it is clear that this problem spreads in many countries, and some of the research that he carried out showed Specialists that the number of hours of sleep for an individual may be less than the normal range.
The ideal number of hours of sleep
Some organic disorders occur when a person sleeps, which causes increased sleep, and the problem of snoring and sleep apnea, which is one of the medical problems resulting from the occurrence of obstruction of the upper air direction due to congenital defects or swelling of the throat tissues, accompanied by snoring, and may lead to irregular breathing.
Which causes interruption in sleep, and interruption of sleep causes increased drowsiness during the day, and this problem is widespread with overweight people, and American studies on 1,000 people and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine revealed that the possibility of vehicle accidents and injured while standing Weak breathing or those who suffer from the first snoring is three times that of a healthy individual, and the percentage increases to seven times in those with a respiratory problem.
While the injured stops breathing during sleep or compulsive involuntary sleep, they frequently sleep behind the wheel of the car, even if they have slept a sufficient number of hours, and they may sleep in many unsuitable sleeping positions, such as sleeping while reading or watching television, and the individual may sleep in public places or in a place the work.
How to maintain attention while driving
You should not drive unless you are in full fitness and have obtained a suitable amount of rest. If you want to travel large distances, you must organize the time so that you take an appropriate rest before traveling. Usually, it is preferable to sleep from 7 to 9 hours before traveling. Charging energy, preparing the body for travel.
Not driving for a long time
It is taken into account not to drive the car for a long time, as the accident takes place in less than a moment, as soon as you lose control of the car, the accident will happen, so try to organize a trip to rest every two hours from the fatigue of driving.
Take a break when feeling drowsy and irresistible
As soon as you feel sleepy and if you become unable to resist, you must stop on the side of the road or in a break, and rest or sleep for a short period, even if the rest is for a few minutes, but it will help the body to rest, as opposed to continuing to drive, as this will lead to increased fatigue and the desire to sleep.
Put a bottle of water or juice next to you
Sometimes it is preferable to prepare a high-energy drink, then try to drink the drink slowly, and take into account that you stay away from drinks with a high percentage of sugar. The importance and benefits of these drinks lie in keeping the leader busy with their taste, as they will occupy him and make him need to urinate over time.
Use Radio or a Music player
Although this solution does not work, but it is better to try to use it, sometimes the news may make you pay attention to it, or to a radio program, and sometimes you want to listen to music, depending on the mood of the leader.
Car temperature
Some may not realize that the car’s heat may encourage the driver to want to sleep, sometimes it is preferable to turn off the air conditioning even if you feel hot, or open and close the car window, according to the weather.
Plan your route
It is one of the important things that helps determine the driving period as well as the rest period, trying to know the places of rest and gas stations on both sides of the journey, and knowing the distances between them.
Medications you take when traveling
There are many drugs that cause a desire to sleep and lose focus to those who take them, and this is one of the serious matters, and you should ask the doctor when he prescribes treatment for you, or read the leaflet inside the treatment.
Summary of research related to the problem of increased drowsiness and frequent car accidents
Sleeping while driving is a common issue that has some serious complications, and a survey conducted in the United States of America revealed that 54% of drivers continue to drive the car even when they feel a strong desire to sleep, and one million drivers admitted that they fell asleep while driving, which causes accidents. Another poll in Britain revealed that 13% of drivers admitted to falling asleep once while driving.
The National Committee for Sleep Disorders in America also conducted a study, which revealed that drowsiness when driving is one of the main causes of road accidents, and the report published by the Department of Transport in Britain revealed that 22% of road accidents are due to drowsiness while driving, and the survey indicated that Only five drivers stop driving to rest while they are drowsy.
The researchers in the United States also mentioned that a driver out of a total of 30 drivers on long roads feels very drowsy while driving, and statistics from the American Traffic and Homeland Security Administration revealed that the sleep of drivers while driving is a major factor in more than 100,000 accidents annually.
Tips to help you eliminate drowsiness while driving
Get an adequate amount of sleep and stop driving while feeling lethargic and lazy.
You should not drive at times when the body is used to sleeping and resting, whether at night or nap time in the day.
The driver should not be arrogant and know that napping for one moment may cause a major accident, so the driver should take a nap when he feels drowsy, as a nap from 15 minutes to half an hour increases activity and concentration.
Although some motorists believe that raising the voice of the recorder or stopping and then moving or opening the car window to enter the air may make the driver energetic and alert, but this has not been scientifically proven.
Attempts to reduce car accidents caused by sleep
In order to reduce the problem of traffic accidents resulting from sleep while driving, the traffic systems in many countries of the world provide drivers with some sleep disorders while driving medical treatment for them, and car companies have begun to develop some methods to detect drowsiness of the driver in order to alert him in the event of drowsiness by measuring The number of blinks of the eyes, which increases the desire of the driver to sleep.
There are other companies that have tried to measure the electrical brain activity while driving the vehicle and the force of the driver’s grip on the wheel, and some companies have tried to install a camera under the car to detect the inclination of the car when it deviates from the normal path and many attempts because of the car manufacturers’ awareness of the danger of drowsiness and sleep while driving.
