>> Tips To Stay Awake While Driving

From time to time, my father had to take trips for business that meant long highway miles. He fell asleep twice, but was lucky both times.

The first time, he woke up with a bang and found himself grinding along the emergency lane guardrail at 60 miles an hour. Although the car needed some costly body work, he wasn't hurt.

The second time was during the winter and he again he went off the highway. But luck was still on his side. He plowed into a big pile of snow, and outside of some bumps and bruises, he was fine.
After these incidents, he became real serious about staying awake and it never happened again.

Stay awake, folks ... for your own benefit as well as others! Studies have shown that drowsy drivers can be as dangerous as drunk ones. So, here are some tips and reminders for keeping your eyes open behind the wheel.

First off, and simple enough, is to drink coffee. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system which often results in clearer thinking and less fatigue. The effect of caffeine typically occurs within an hour and lasts for three to four hours.

You can get the same boost from other more heavily caffeinated drinks as well as over-the-counter pills such as No-Doze and Vivarin (also available at most in-route gas stations).

Try to travel with another person and talk. You can also take turns driving. I know, one person is supposed to drive while the other person sleeps in preparation for their turn. This is fine as long as the driver is alert. But as soon as the driver starts feeling groggy, the passenger should be woken.

Talk for a few minutes and see if the driver snaps out of it. If not, time to switch drivers. Or, if you're both tired, it's time to pull off so that you can both get some rest.
Make frequent stops. You don't need to set a world time record. The important thing is to get where you're going safely.

So, stop every 90 minutes or so. Walk around and stretch your legs and take deep breathes. Even do a few jumping jacks or pushups to get your blood circulating. The bottom line is to rejuvenate yourself periodly. If it doesn't help, rest. It's amazing what a fifteen minute nap can do.

Stimulate your senses and play your favorite music ... loudly. Or, listen to talking media such as a good book. As you feel yourself beginning to tire, sitting still thinking about this or that or daydreaming is a recipe for disaster.

Eat snacks. Get your mouth moving and the more actively the better. When was the last time you fell asleep with food in your mouth? While it's possible, it simply doesn't happen often.

Something like sunflower seeds is ideal. You've got to separate the shells, chew, spit out the shells, and repeat. That's lots of activity. They even make caffeinated seeds these days.

All of these tips involve keeping your mind stimulated and/or physical movement. These are the keys. But when you are just plain tired, there's nothing safer or more responsible than simply calling it a day and stopping until you are well rested.

Joshua Rose is a Used Car Broker at Auto-Broker-Magic.com. He writes informative articles on car buying, such as Getting More For Your Trade-In, among many others.

Article Source: EzineArticles