Sleepy driver may as well be drunk

Sleepy driver may as well be drunk, and possibly even more so, because they oftan dont realise that they are impaired. Driving for eight hours straight more than double your risk of crashing- making you as dangerous as a driver with a blood alcohol count of 0.05%.

The human body is programmed for two sleepy periods. The primary one is between midnight and 6am. The other is early to mid-afternoon. Most people will attribute this afternoon sleepiness to what or how much they ate for lunch.

"You start to lose attention because you're bored," says Professor Narelle Haworth, a specialist in prevention and rehabilation at Autralia Queensland University of Technology.

Fatigue can affect anyone on the road, but some are a higher risk for fatigue crashes: people who work long hours (working 60 hours a week increases you risk by 40 percent), shift worker (the human body never fully adjust to shift work), young people ( particulay vulnerable to the effect of their circadian rhythms), males (althought both ganders are equally sleep-deprived, males are responsible for approximately three out of four fall-asleep crashes), people with sleep disorder.

Loud music might help for awhile to avoid dowsy, but not for long. Loud music may also distract you from the road. Coffee (caffeine is only a short-term solutio and will less effect the more often you use it. Plenty of fresh air through the window may give give you boost and help for a while, as might turning the air-cond on to cold, But if you are tired, sleep is the only solution.