How to Counteract Drowsy Driving
Don’t drive drowsy! But, if you do have to drive when you’re tired, be sure you know the warning signs — and the techniques and technologies you can use to keep yourself and your passengers safe.
By Bill Machrone
Posted Dec. 26, 2007, at 1 p.m.
Driving while drowsy is a major problem in this country. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that driver fatigue or drowsiness causes 56,000 accidents, 40,000 nonfatal injuries and more than 1,500 fatalities per year.
Drowsy driving and fatigue are not the same as driver inattention, which can affect any driver, tired or not. Inattention, which is equally serious, is caused by anything that diverts your attention from the road, such as spilled drinks, dropped objects and talking on cell phones, as well as fiddling with the car’s climate control and entertainment systems. These are conscious decisions you make, while drowsy driving tends to sneak up on you.
The signs of drowsy driving are easily recognizable: repeated yawns and difficulty keeping your eyes open. If your mind wanders to the extent that you’ve driven some distance with no recollection of the intervening miles, that so-called “highway hypnosis” can lead to unconscious tailgating or slow reaction times. Finally, if you have difficulty staying in lane or holding your speed, that’s another sure sign that you’re fatigued.
Tips to Stay Awake
Some time-honored techniques, such as rolling down the windows and singing loudly, are ineffective. When you’re really tired and your body needs to sleep, it can be quite insistent.
If you’re planning a trip or you drive long distances regularly, proper rest is essential. When you haven’t had enough sleep, the best thing to do is take frequent rest stops — at least every couple of hours. Get out of the car, walk around, and buy a cup of coffee or a caffeinated soft drink.
While some sources say that exercise doesn’t help, others advocate brisk walking, jogging in place, or large arm swings and upper-body movements to get your breathing and heart rate up. If all else fails, phone ahead, say you’ll be late and take a nap.
How Roads Keep You Alert
Road design can be a factor in preventing and reducing the mishaps caused by drowsy driving. Unending straightaways can lull you, especially if traffic is light enough for cruise control. To keep drivers engaged, some roads, such as New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, are designed with gradual curves and no straightaways longer than a mile or so.
In addition, most high-speed roads now have rumble strips (grooves or rows of raised pavement markers placed perpendicular to the direction of travel) at both margins, so drivers who wander get emphatic feedback: noise and vibration. Similarly, rumble strips before toll booths help mind-wandering drivers notice the booths in enough time to slow down.
California led the nation in the installation of “Botts’ dots,” the raised lane separation bumps that let you know when you’re leaving one lane for another or wandering too close to an adjoining lane. Many other states have lane-marking reflectors installed flush with the road surface. These reflectors provide minimal feedback and are not as effective as Botts’ dots, which are named after Dr. Elbert Dysart Botts, a California Department of Transportation engineer.
How Technology Helps You Stay Awake
Researchers have long investigated the use of systems to detect drowsy driving — with limited success. One fairly low-tech system has been available for decades: a head tilt detector worn behind one ear that sounds an alarm when your head nods too much. The device is inexpensive and is available from several mail-order houses, but it has limited value, since some drivers may actually be asleep with their heads erect and their eyes open.
Today’s technology makes far more sophisticated detection systems available. For example, AssistWare Technology’s SafeTRAC monitors your vehicle’s position with a forward-looking camera and sounds a warning if the vehicle drifts too far to either side. It also detects drowsy or distracted driving by detecting weaving or erratic steering. Inputs from turn signals prevent false alarms when changing lanes. The SafeTRAC system costs roughly $1,000 per vehicle.
BMW will introduce a lane-departure warning system on its 2008 5 Series models. It simulates in the steering wheel the vibrations that rumble strips or lane dots would normally cause. The 2007 Infiniti M35 Sport also has a lane-departure warning system, but it uses a flashing light and audible tone.
In contrast, Attention Technologies’ Driver Fatigue Monitor (DFM) focuses on the driver instead of the vehicle’s dynamics. The dash-mounted device measures the percentage of time that the driver’s eyes remain closed. (The amount of blinking increases as fatigue sets in.)
The device is intended for over-the-road truckers who drive extensively at night, but it has also been adopted by drivers of the huge dump trucks used in open-pit mines. For these drivers, an accident can cost millions of dollars, and even a fender-bender or a blown tire can cost $40,000 to $50,000 in repairs and lost productivity. At $850 per vehicle, the DFM looks like a bargain.
Other technologies under investigation measure the driver’s grip on the wheel, tailgating, variations in speed and the old standby, head nodding. It appears that these technologies and others will trickle down from truck fleets and luxury cars to general availability in the next five to 10 years.
In the meantime, the best thing you can do is to get enough sleep, make frequent rest stops and be aware of the signs of drowsiness.
Bio: Bill Machrone, a writer for Ziff Davis, is the former Editor in Chief of PC Magazine. He has written numerous articles about automotive technology topics, including onboard performance monitoring devices, automotive upgrades, remote camera/backup systems and sonar parking systems.
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