Thursday

How to Stay Awake While Driving Late at Night



More automobile accidents that occur worldwide each year are related drowsiness than to alcohol consumption.  If you have no choice but to drive late at night, here are some tips to stay awake.

Open the windows and let the wind blow through the car.  If the weather is too bad, adjust the air conditioning to cold and turn it on full blast.  If anyone in the car complains about being too cold, point the closest vents towards the driver and close the rest.  Ask them to cover up with something or if they are old enough and wide awake; let them take a turn driving.

Turn on some loud music.  Don’t choose soft piano music or talk radio.  Find some heavy-hitting rock and roll; something that you will want to sing along with.  Keep the beat on the steering wheel so that your body keeps moving.

If you are fortunate enough to have passengers in the car, do not let them sleep, but instead have them talk to you or play some travel games that require you to stay alert but nothing that distracts you from watching the road.

Shake your head every now and then and scream out loud.  Try drinking drinks that contain caffeine, like coffee or sodas.  If you still feel tired, find somewhere to pull over.  Get out of the car and do some exercises, like jumping jacks to increase your heart rate.  If you can find somewhere that is open late at night, go inside and splash some cold water on your face.  Buy a fountain drink with ice.  Keep a piece of ice in your mouth until it melts and then replace it with another.