Preventing Driver fatigue

Driving when Tired or Fatigued can be extremely dangerous, sometimes just as bad as distracted driving and even Drunk Driving. Approximately 1,600 deaths a year and 71,000 injuries are caused by Fatigued Drivers. (NSC)

When you obtain your Commercial Drivers License, You obtain the responsibility that other people’s lives will be in your hands and be affected directly by your decisions. If you aren’t making the proper decisions to keep you and others safe then you shouldn’t be getting behind the wheel.

Prevention:

First and foremost when it comes to Prevention, you need to remember if you become too tired to drive, pull over and take a nap. Sometimes a power nap is all you need.

One of the main things you can do to prevent driver fatigue is to get plenty of sleep. Cheating your body of sleep is like taking out a loan. And when that loan comes due, you are too tired to drive safely. Coffee, energy drinks and pills will never replace sleep. Excessive caffeine can cause rebound fatigue as well as headaches and high blood pressure to name a few.

Things you can do:

• Eat healthy, regular meals. Your body needs nutrition to function properly.
• Stay hydrated.
• Don’t take medications, prescription or over the counter, that make you drowsy or affect your ability to operate machinery. Even over the counter medications can earn you a DUI charge.
• Turn up your radio. If you can keep yourself occupied it can reduce your ability
• Plan ahead for your shifts to ensure you are taken care of and ready to get behind the wheel

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has a regulation against driving fatigued.

49 CFR § 392.3 Ill or fatigued operator:

“No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, while the driver’s ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle. However, in a case of grave emergency where the hazard to occupants of the commercial motor vehicle or other users of the highway would be increased by compliance with this section, the driver may continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle to the nearest place at which that hazard is removed.”

Overall, Driving Fatigue can be prevented so lets save more lives and do our part. If we simply, Plan ahead for getting behind the wheel and ensure we have taken the necessary steps to keep ourselves and others safe then we won’t have any issues. We want to keep everyone Safe.