Sleeping at the Wheel

The other evening I was driving my children home from a birthday party in Citrus Heights, California. As I was driving I saw a car swerving slightly from one lane to another and then stopped at the red light. I told myself I better watch out for this person because they might be drunk. I pulled up at the red light right next to him. I saw that his head was done and his eyes were slightly close. I thought to myself could he be drunk or just sleepy? When the light turned green I drove forward and then he did. I slowed down because I didn't want to be close to his car and risk my children getting hurt. He passed me up and I noticed his eyes were drowsy and his head appeared to be bobbing. He looked like he was falling asleep. I was afraid he was going to hurt himself or someone else. This looked just as bad as drunk driving. I was able to get his license plate number and called 911 right away. I reported to them what I saw and the direction he appeared to be heading.

Driving drowsy is a dangerous behavior and can risk the lives of many people. This was not the first time that I have seen this type of at risk behavior. Driving drowsy occurs more often that we think. I know there was a few times in my life that I felt tired and drowsy while driving. I didn't allow myself to continue in that state of mind. There are things we can do to prevent sleeping on the wheel.

Become aware of the signs of feeling sleepy. Tiredness is what leads to feeling sleepy. You could start off by physically not having any energy. You start to yawn a lot and have trouble focusing on your surroundings. Your eyes feel like they want to close and your not driving the correctly. You move from one lane to another and the speed of the car varies. When you catch yourself doing this you need to stop at the side of the road immediately. Take this time to step out of the car and take some deep breaths. Drink something cold and if there is water around splash water on your face. This will help wake you up. Still finding yourself drowsy then take a nap in your car.