Thread: Too Tired To Drive

We all know that one second of closing the eyes could lead to accident while driving. What do you do then you are too tired to drive? How do you keep yourself awake on a long drive?

I have never had a problem staying awake while driving. There was one time, I drove across country to my sister's house. I drove 20 hours straight before I stopped to rest. I could have kept going but was sick of being in the car.

You are a great driver. I cannot imagine driving 20 hours straight. On a long trip, if we had two or more drivers in the car, we would change shift every three hours or so.

I only did this once and managed to wake in time to avoid taking out a mailbox of a very old country road (the lack of proper road is what actually woke me) and I will never drive that sleepy again. People just do not think sometimes.

I never used to have a problem getting tired while I was driving but as I get older it is getting harder and harder. I put on upbeat music and open the windows if I feel sleepy. I have gotten to the point one time where I had to pull into a rest stop and close my eyes for a few minutes, then splash water on my face, then I was good to go.

Splashing water on our face is a good trick and always works for me. If I had no chance to do it, I would just lick your upper mouth to get it tickled. It will instantly wake you up.

I'm not in this situation anymore, but back in the day when I was driving a lot all over the place, I would do some of the usual things --- open the window to have the air/wind blowing, keep the radio on upbeat music, drink a pepsi, snack on something. Just once or twice when I had someone with me, I would pull over and close my eyes for a bit.

This happens to me when I drive long distances. This is the reason why I don't drive alone when I have to be on the road for more than a day. We take turns every 8 to 10 hours or so in order for the other person who is currently driving to take a rest.

I actually saw a study on this not too long ago and the result was you were better off being behind the wheel drunk than you were sleep deprived! Scary when you think about how many tired overworked people there are on the roads!

I am awful about falling asleep in the car even when driving. I've never fallen-fallen asleep but I've come close. I have to have something to keep me awake otherwise it's not pretty!