by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: February 06, 2010

Falling asleep at the wheel can kill you. If you get to sleepy, you can nod off without even realizing that it is happening. The next thing you know, there are lights and sirens everywhere. If you are lucky, you will survive and so will anyone else who was involved in the car accident. If you are not, you could die or your passengers and people in other vehicles could too. Don’t take the chance on falling asleep at the wheel.

Tips on how to prevent falling asleep at the wheel:

Before You Leave

Make sure that you get enough sleep before you get behind the wheel. This is even more important if you are going on a long trip. Rest up so that you are refreshed when you start on the trip. This will help prevent you from falling asleep at the wheel and keep everyone on the roads much safer.

Slight Sleepiness

If you feel the tiredness begin to creep in, turn of the heater and open the window a bit. If it is summer time, turn up the air conditioner as high as it will go. Hot air will make you more tired. Keep it as cool as possible in the vehicle to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.

Radio

Turn up the radio so that the noise keeps you from falling asleep. Talk to the radio of you need some extra incentive to stay awake. Never rely on someone else in the car keeping you awake. This could prove to be a fatal mistake. Human passengers are likely to fall asleep and you will not have anything to keep you awake.

Pull Over

If you catch yourself nodding at all, pull over immediately and get some rest. Sometimes you can’t trick yourself into staying awake. You have to do the only right thing and lay down to get some sleep. It is much better on long trips to plan over night stops when you get halfway to your destination if not sooner.

Falling asleep at the wheel can be fatal. It is not worth the pain that you can inflict on yourself or on others. It is sometimes considered even worse than drinking and driving. If you suspect that you are too tired to drive, then heed the warning from yourself and stay off the roads until you have gotten some sleep. There is nothing so important that you need to kill yourself to get there.

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