Sleepy driving: do you do the right thing?

Your Brain Goes to Sleep (and Wakes Up) in Pieces
sciam.com — If you're too tired to think straight, it might be because parts of your brain are already asleep at the wheel. Scientists are challenging the belief that a specific region of the brain makes the call to hit the sack. Instead, our brains power down in stages, they say. If a certain group of cells in our brain gets fatigued, it imply shuts off.
from here:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=brain-sacks-out-in-stag

es-08-11-11

Sleep debt
Carolyn Fay 2007 Oct 18 Definitions
The brain keeps track of the accumulated hours of wakefulness. One hour of sleep is needed to "pay off" every two hours of wakefulness. When the sleep debt load is high enough, the brain will essentially force one into sleep, which is what happens when drowsy drivers fall asleep at the wheel. Although sleep debt must be paid back eventually, there is unfortunately no way to "stockpile" sleep in the event of future shortages. Dement notes, too, that there have been no studies on long term sleep debt, and so it is unknown whether the brain keeps track of sleep debt past two weeks or so. And while a large sleep debt can be a very dangerous thing, a small sleep debt is good, because it allows us to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep.

Test subjects with no sleep debt often have difficulty both falling asleep quickly and staying asleep the whole night through.

i passed out with a glass of scotch in my hand

and even some last resort bits to aid in wakefulness

Please feel free to add a link to this site. I am available for media interviews to discuss sleepy drivers or Robyn's crash. I have also made a series of TV Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the CHP in which I talk about Robyn's crash. The PSAs are available for airplay. You can contact me by e-mail or at the address below if you would like a copy.

Phil Konstantin
P.O. Box 17515
San Diego, CA 92177-7515
(858) 505-5014

In my research into the cause of Robyn's crash, I am come across some interesting facts. I have links below to other internet sites which discuss the issue. I have also compiled some statistics from government sources. Here is one significant fact. More people die each year from crashes related to Drowsy, Sleepy or Fatigued Drivers than from all of the following causes COMBINED:
Plague; Anthrax; Leprosy; Diptheria; Whooping Cough; Tetanus; Smallpox; Chicken Pox; Measles; Rubella; Yellow Fever; Dengue; Mosquito-born Encephilitis; Infectious Mononucleosis; Malaria; Venereal Diseases; Vitamin A, B, C and D Difficiencies; Gout; Glaucoma; Cataracts; Hemorrhoids; Chronic Sinusitis; Pregnancies with Abortive Outcomes; Impetigo; Psoriasis; Spina Bifida; Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip; Bites from Snakes, Lizards and Spiders; Dog Bites; Hornet, Wasp and Bee Stings; Catacylsmic Earth Movements and Eruptions; and Fireworks.

APRIL 6 day of each year--DRIVER awareness day resolution for calif
http://americanindian.net/resolution.html

Phil

There are several ironic circumstances in Robyn's death. She was a good driver. Robyn had passed a rest area approximately one mile before she crashed. I am a California Highway Patrol Officer. My present assignment is in the Public Affairs field. One of the subjects I cover frequently is the dangers of driving when you are fatigued, drowsy or sleepy

perhaps not responsibible, with thirty+ years of hindsight, but it was a damned good time at the time.

The most common countermeasures were to stop to take a walk (54%), turn on the radio/stereo (52%), open a window (47%), drink coffee (45%) and to ask passengers to engage in conversation (35%).

Logistic regression analysis showed that counteracting sleepiness with a nap (a presumably efficient method) was practiced by those with experience of sleep-related crashes or of driving during severe sleepiness, as well as by professional drivers,

I been warped by the rain
Driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't ya know
And I'm still, oh, I'm still
I'm out on the road late at night
I see my pretty Alice in every headlight
Alice, Dallas Alice

I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Now I've driven the back roads
So I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites, and wine
Then you show me a sign
I'll be willin' to be movin'

Now I smuggled some smokes
And folks from Mexico
Baked by the sun
Almost every time I go to Mexico
And I'm willin'

And I've been kicked by the wind
Robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in
But I'm still on my feet
And I'm willin', oh, I'm willin'

folks do NOT realize that they cannot talk themselves out of falling asleep, or, they cannot do enough tricks to work... sure, some tricks yes, may stall a tired brain for a bit, and make one feel like one has successfully tackled the trip home, but sooner or later, one will press the issue to far---and, when the "real issue" is ready to kick you can't stop it, and that is due to this fact:

the brain shuts down... (which is obvious, as you don't even know what is going on then)
also, "micro sleep" hits drivers at such time (which is a fast shut-down that can occur, before the full shut-down)...

falling asleep can happen in pieces, so they say:
Your Brain Goes to Sleep (and Wakes Up) in Pieces
sciam.com — If you're too tired to think straight, it might be because parts of your brain are already asleep at the wheel. Scientists are challenging the belief that a specific region of the brain makes the call to hit the sack. Instead, our brains power down in stages, they say. If a certain group of cells in our brain gets fatigued, it imply shuts off.
from here:

EDIT-- THAT LINK IS GONE NOW... TRY THIS ONE, THOUGH, THE QUOTES WON'T MATCH:
https://www.tuck.com/microsleep/



-08-11-11

here's more serious info:

Sleep debt
Carolyn Fay 2007 Oct 18 Definitions
The brain keeps track of the accumulated hours of wakefulness. One hour of sleep is needed to "pay off" every two hours of wakefulness. When the sleep debt load is high enough, the brain will essentially force one into sleep, which is what happens when drowsy drivers fall asleep at the wheel. Although sleep debt must be paid back eventually, there is unfortunately no way to "stockpile" sleep in the event of future shortages. Dement notes, too, that there have been no studies on long term sleep debt, and so it is unknown whether the brain keeps track of sleep debt past two weeks or so. And while a large sleep debt can be a very dangerous thing, a small sleep debt is good, because it allows us to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep.

Test subjects with no sleep debt often have difficulty both falling asleep quickly and staying asleep the whole night through.

SAY---found a MUCH easier link for the same page:
http://americanindian.net/sleep.html


NOTE FROM PHIL:

Please feel free to add a link to this site. I am available for media interviews to discuss sleepy drivers or Robyn's crash. I have also made a series of TV Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the CHP in which I talk about Robyn's crash. The PSAs are available for airplay. You can contact me by e-mail or at the address below if you would like a copy.

Phil Konstantin
P.O. Box 17515
San Diego, CA 92177-7515
(858) 505-5014

ON THE page that i put this link for, is this, as well:
plus a link to its own page:
http://americanindian.net/sleepstats.html

In my research into the cause of Robyn's crash, I am come across some interesting facts. I have links below to other internet sites which discuss the issue. I have also compiled some statistics from government sources. Here is one significant fact. More people die each year from crashes related to Drowsy, Sleepy or Fatigued Drivers than from all of the following causes COMBINED:
Plague; Anthrax; Leprosy; Diptheria; Whooping Cough; Tetanus; Smallpox; Chicken Pox; Measles; Rubella; Yellow Fever; Dengue; Mosquito-born Encephilitis; Infectious Mononucleosis; Malaria; Venereal Diseases; Vitamin A, B, C and D Difficiencies; Gout; Glaucoma; Cataracts; Hemorrhoids; Chronic Sinusitis; Pregnancies with Abortive Outcomes; Impetigo; Psoriasis; Spina Bifida; Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip; Bites from Snakes, Lizards and Spiders; Dog Bites; Hornet, Wasp and Bee Stings; Catacylsmic Earth Movements and Eruptions; and Fireworks.

APRIL 6 day of each year--DRIVER awareness day resolution for calif
http://americanindian.net/resolution.html

Phil

and, this:
There are several ironic circumstances in Robyn's death. She was a good driver. Robyn had passed a rest area approximately one mile before she crashed. I am a California Highway Patrol Officer. My present assignment is in the Public Affairs field. One of the subjects I cover frequently is the dangers of driving when you are fatigued, drowsy or sleepy