Falling Asleep While Driving

Falling asleep while driving is more common than you think. As scary as it may seem, more people fall asleep at the wheel each and every day while driving than ever. One time, while I was driving on the road on the way to the beach in North Carolina, I noticed an older driver on the other side of the road driving in the opposite direction as me.

The reason that this driver caught my attention was because of his driving. I noticed that while the rest of the traffic (which was light) seemed to be moving in a fluid, straight direction, his vehicle seemed to be wavering- not quite swerving, but more of a drifting pattern. Sure enough, no sooner had I found myself observing this man’s driving from a distance and had passed him going in the opposite direction, I suddenly saw a cloud of dust in my rearview mirror. When I glanced behind me, I glanced back just in time to notice that this same driver had actually drifted off the side of the road and was actively driving off the side of the road into an embankment, leaving a cloud of dirt and dust behind him. I found out later that this gentleman had simply fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. I found out that he was ok, and I was only too glad to find out that he hadn’t hurt anyone else in this seemingly small mishap.

Not many of us realize it, but we are incredibly lucky each day when we get behind the wheel of a car and survive somehow. I say it like this because there are so many irresponsible drivers out there, that it is enough to blow your mind. There have been times, both when I was a police officer as well as when I was a civilian, when I have observed people I know do incredibly stupid things when getting ready to drive. For instance, there was a time (not too long ago), when I was home visiting some friends and had gotten picked up at the airport by someone. When I later got back to my friend’s house and I was walking back by their car, I noticed that there were several empty beer cans in the back seat in plain view. Now, while I am not entirely sure what the rules for drinking and driving are in the state of New York, I am only too sure that it is not legal to have any sort of open container in your vehicle. Now, what would happen if this friend were to get pulled over by the police on a routine traffic stop?

Falling asleep while driving, to some, is not the person’s fault. However, to many other people, falling asleep is the sole responsibility of the person who is driving. If you know that you are going to have to drive somewhere, then you should make sure that you have adequate rest to do so. For example, when I know that I have to travel home to New York from North Carolina, I always try to make sure that I am in bed early enough so that I give myself at least eight hours of sleep. It is simply too risky to try driving a long distance in a vehicle when you are exhausted. Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you are putting other people at risk.

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