Are you driving tired?

I just read a survey that says a large number of people have fallen asleep at the wheel and I was very shocked at first. Then once you think about it, in our fast paced society, it seems many people drive when they are too tired to be behind the wheel. Whether coming home from a late flight or a late sports game; there are likely a lot of times when people feel that familiar head drop and still continue to drive thinking “it’s not that much further.”

I know for me, personally, my husband is a musician and there are many nights where he has said it was a rough drive home, not sure he would make it. Many other nights, he would just pull over and sleep before he would continue.

But it doesn’t even have to be a late night outing, have you ever stayed up too late and been exhausted the next morning? Were you too tired to be behind the wheel?

So how big a problem is this?

According to the Neglected Driver Survey done in 2012, out of 1003 people, 30% of men and 14% of women admit they have nodded off behind the wheel. Others have admitted to swerving due to being too tired. 32% of men even said they worried about getting their family into an accident because they were tired while driving.

We know that our lives are not going to slow down, so what can we do to help solve this problem?

1. Take turns on a long road trip and make sure the driver rests between turns. The survey showed that 72% of men said they do all or most of the driving on long family road trips. So if this is the case, make sure someone is awake to talk to them, get them water or whatever they need to stay awake and safe.

2. Plan breaks in a long road trip. Sometimes all you need it to get out, stretch and walk around to perk you up again.

3. Plan ahead. Make sure you get a good night sleep before a long road trip or take a nap if you know you are going to be out late.

4. Many people automatically go for the caffeine. This is a short term fix. Having a cold bottle of water will be far better and will avoid that short term spike and crash from the coffee.

We all want to be safe on the road so make sure you do your part and be as rested as you can be while driving.

Have questions about your Auto Insurance, give us a call at Pearson Insurance in Sussex, NB, (506) 432-1550 or email us at info@pearsoninsurance.ca.

Source: citopbroker.com and carpages.ca