Sleep and safe driving

Did you know?

Stay awake for 17hr and drive, and you'll behave as if you've a blood alcohol of 50mg/100ml (NZ limit 80mg). Drive after staying awake for 24hr, you're as dangerous as someone with 100mg/100ml.

We all know driving when we’re tired is dangerous, but often we tend to associate this with long distance drivers and ‘other people’. But here are some sobering statistics from ACC and Land Transport NZ.

Tips to stay awake at the wheel

Plan your trip

• Get plenty of sleep before a long journey.
• Don’t drive when your body most wants to sleep, ie, early morning and mid afternoon; stay somewhere overnight rather than traveling straight through.
• Allow for rest stops – take a break every 2 hours; get out and walk around.

Eat and drink sensibly

• Eat healthy meals (avoid large meals) at your usual times.
• Drink fluids to stay alert - research shows drinking a caffeinated drink (tea, coffee, cola drinks), followed by a 20 minute nap, improves alertness in the short term.

Get fresh air and conversation

• Get fresh air blowing into the vehicle; don’t use the ‘recirculating’ air function.
• Talking to someone or listening to music can help stay alert.

Share the driving

• If possible share the driving.
• Don’t drive over your allotted driving hours.

Take care with medications

• Avoid taking any medications before you drive that will make you sleepy, eg, travel sickness tablets, sleeping pills, cold preparations and some pain killers and antihistamines.
• Read drug information sheets to check for side effects.

Signs of tiredness

• Hard to keep your eyes open, or just feeling sleepy.
• Yawning or rubbing your eyes repeatedly.
• Lack of concentration, daydreaming or slow reaction times.
• Impatience, feeling restless and irritable.
• Difficulty focusing, keeping your eyes open or holding your head up.
• Drifting over the centre line or road edge.
• Changes in driving speed, slower and larger steering correction.
• Lapses in attention like missing road signs.
• 'Checking out' for a few seconds, called ‘microsleep’.

What to do if you feel sleepy

• Don’t hang on till you get to where you’re going, pull over immediately in a safe place
• Move to a passenger seat, lock the doors and take a power nap of no more than 40 minutes, otherwise you will feel too groggy to continue driving.
• Have someone call you to wake you if you think you will oversleep.
• Walk around the vehicle when you wake up to help you wake up.
• Wait at least 10 minutes before you start driving again.