Life gets busy, and you may find your schedule packed full of commitments that leave less time for sleep. Truth is, drowsy driving can put you at increased risk of an accident. In fact, the AAA Foundation for Driver Safety conducted a study and found that more than 1 in 5 deadly crashes involved overtired drivers.
But that’s not all. If you’re awake for 24 hours straight, you really shouldn’t be behind the wheel at all. According to research, staying awake for 24 hours is equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.10% – 0.02% higher than the legal limit.
If you ever find yourself feeling sleepy while behind the wheel, it’s important to your safety, your passengers’ safety, and the safety of other drivers that you take measures to wake yourself up. When you’re driving carpools of kids, their safety is in your hands. These 7 tips can help you to keep yourself awake and alert during carpool trips so you all get home safely.
Get Enough Sleep
It sounds basic, but fighting off drowsy driving truly does begin with getting enough sleep. Make an effort to keep yourself on a regular sleep schedule, and consider using one of these great apps to help you get and monitor quality sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, it may be time for a trip to the doctor – this isn’t an issue that you should ignore, especially when you have to be alert enough to drive.
Bring Your Coffee
Know that you’ll be driving a carpool later on in the day? Make sure to allow time to stop off at a coffee shop beforehand to stock up on caffeine. Sipping a beverage – even one without caffeine – can help to keep you awake, since you need to move your body to lift and then replace the drink.
Chew Gum
Chewing gum is another activity that can help to keep you alert. It keeps you moving and focusing, so always keep a pack in the car with you.
Roll Down the Window
Techniques like rolling down your window and turning up the radio can help to wake you up if you’re feeling drowsy. If you have kids in the car, holding a conversation with them can also help.
Use a Drowsy Driver App
Have your phone handy? There are a number of great apps designed to help keep you awake on the road.
- Drive Awake, for iOS and Android, will monitor your eyes for signs of wakefulness. If your eyes close, the app sounds an alarm to wake you up.
- Anti Sleep Driver displays a screen of blue light. According to studies, blue light is as effective as caffeine at waking you up. The app is available for Android.
- Stay Awake Pro offers a number of different features. One of the most popular is the “Talk to Me” feature, in which the app asks you to repeat words. Miss one, and the app will sound an alarm to wake you up. It’s available for iOS.
These apps provide another wake-up tool, but remember, they’re not foolproof.
Share the Driving with Others
When possible, try to share the amount of driving you have to do with others. If your kids have to get to lots of after-school sports and activities, or if they need to be driven to frequent away or travel games, carpooling may be the perfect solution. GoKid can help you to set up carpools with other parents, splitting the driving so you have to spend less time behind the wheel.
Accept When You’re Too Tired to Drive
Sometimes, despite all the planning in the world, life happens and you may find that you’re just too tired to drive safely. If this is the case, then find someone else to take over the carpool. With GoKid, that’s easy – you can quickly get in touch with other parents. Remember, safety is the most important thing, and you can always trade off your driving days and pick up a carpool when you’re better rested and ready to be on the road.
We want you and your family to be safe on the road. Please put these tips to use to prevent drowsy driving and keep yourself safe.
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