Identifying and Avoiding Fatigued Driving for Commercial Drivers

I’m sure there are people out there who wish the day would last longer than 24 hours. Ther main reason is that they have so many things on the go and not enough time to get them done. Maybe you’re like that. Many people are and those same people use their vehicle to help them complete those tasks. That could become dangerous.

There was a survey several years ago that showed how, as the population, we have more free time than we had just a decade earlier. Free time may be subjective. It seems that what we do in that free time that seems to put us over the edge and causes us to wear ourselves down. It is also perceived that working 40 hours a week is the normal situation for many. But now it’s changed. For many people, it’s now considered to be normal if you extend those 40 hours a week so that we can pay for the life we want to have and the demands our families create.

Larger Family, More Working Hours

For those with larger families, 40 hours per week may not be enough hours to help you earn enough money to provide all the comforts of home. Putting in extra hours at work will often give many that extra income to go on a family vacation, or to earn more money for buying special gifts, or save for retirement. As a commercial driver, it seems that the long weekly hours seem to be par for the course of employment. In many cases, these long hours can lead to fatigue. As a commercial driver, that could be lethal.

Being Tired While Driving

Being tired while driving, or drowsy driving, is generally an expected feeling after completing several activities throughout the day or at the end of a busy day. You know why you’re feeling tired most of the time and often having a good night’s sleep will often solve the issue of being tired. However, the feeling of fatigue is normally a daily lack of energy. It means your entire body is tired which is not often improved by having a good night’s sleep.

Driving drowsy or fatigued can seriously put drivers at high risk of crashing, even professional drivers. Driving fatigued seems to happen more often than drivers may realize. It’s not just that your body is tired; your brain is also tired. It stops functioning as well as it must allow you to keep you safely on the road. Here are a few thoughts to consider.

When your brain is impaired by fatigue, it can reduce your abilities of making reasonable driving choices. The information your eyes gather that are sent to your brain will send messages to your hands, feet and eyes to allow you to safely operate the vehicle. Fatigue can cause these messages to become delayed, which can seriously affect how tackle the task of driving.

If you consider how you may act at home when you’re feeling tired or fatigued, you may not be as active, your responses, both mentally and physically, may be somewhat slower and you may not be thinking as clearly as you normally would be when you are fresh. This is all too dangerous to consider letting happen as commercial drivers, yet many drivers seem to ignore the symptoms of fatigue and keep driving.

Difficulty keeping your Eyes Open

Common early signs of fatigue include having difficulty keeping your eyes open regularly, your energy level has drastically dropped, you begin yawning a lot, you begin wandering side to side in your lane or you may have very little focus on the driving task. If any of these signs of fatigue are happening to you, it’s time to change what you’re doing.

Let’s begin with a few of the short-term solutions.

*Drink coffee or a cold caffeinated drink as it can help to keep them awake.

*Cold air from the air conditioning on your face can help keep alert, or keep the windows rolled down for fresh air.

*Play the music loud enough and sing along to keep your brain active, but not loud enough to be distracted.

*Have a detailed conversation with passengers.

Short-term Solutions

Again, these are short-term solutions that may work for some to help keep you mentally awake and alert but would normally only work for a very short while.

Pull Over

The best solution to becoming fatigued while driving is getting enough rest. Pulling over to a safe location such as a rest stop is the best tip. Taking a power nap and wake up refreshed can make a world of difference. Find a parking lot, lock your doors and have that 15-to-20-minute nap.

Have a Short Nap

Having a short nap can often be refreshing enough to help you to become awake and alert once again and allow you to drive away safely. Arriving late after a small nap is much better than not arriving at all. If you need more than 15 to 20 minutes, take it. There is no need to rush yourself since you may show the signs of fatigue soon after you begin driving once again.

Scheduling Short Breaks

Tackling fatigue proactively is a better idea. Scheduling short breaks every few hours on long drives will give you time to exit your vehicle to stretch your muscles, get the blood flowing again and to take a washroom break. If you decide to take a long drive and have the opportunity, the best solution is to possibly share the drive with another person. Switch drivers before you get too tired though.

Avoid Eating Heavy Meals

Avoid eating heavy meals right before driving can also help. Eating lighter snacks is often better than having a big meal before you drive, especially foods with a higher fat intake. As far as snacks go, apples are great to help keep you alert and awake behind the wheel. Since a very warm interior can help to cause drowsiness, it would be good to keep the interior of the vehicle cool as much as possible.

The best choices you can make as a commercial driver is when you awake and alert. It’s time to make changes and avoid these risks.