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Drowsy driving is dangerous and often results in injury or death. Just as alcohol can impair driver performance, drowsiness can slow reaction time, impair judgment and increase the risk of a crash. Falling asleep at the wheel or the inability to pay adequate attention while driving may be a result of sleep deprivation. The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are 100,000 police-reported crashes resulting in 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries annually as the result of drowsy driving, costing an estimated 12.5 billion dollars.

When Is It Most Likely To Happen?

Most drowsy driving crashes happen at predictable times. The human body runs on a 24- hour cycle, in which we have predictable times of wakefulness and sleepiness. Between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and then again from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. we are most likely to feel fatigued and at risk of being involved in a drowsy driving-related crash increases.

The Dangers of Drowsy Driving

“Enhancing lives through injury prevention education”

A L T R U ’ S T R A U M A S E R V I C E S I N J U R Y P R E V E N T I O N N E W S L E T T E R

March 2015

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Who’s At Risk?

Anyone of us is at risk of being a drowsy driver. Any motorist who has not obtained adequate sleep can become fatigued and experience decreased alertness when driving. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 51 percent of adults reported to have driven drowsy and 17 percent reported falling asleep at the wheel in the past year. Those most at risk include: young drivers, shift workers, truck drivers, new parents, and parents of young children.

Young drivers are inexperienced and may not be aware of the dangers of drowsy driving. Contributing to their risk of sleep deprivation are the hectic schedules that teens keep staying up late doing homework, working part-time jobs, or going out late with their friends.

On a regular basis, shift workers are up working at times their bodies would prefer to sleep. The body is preprogrammed to sleep at certain times and their jobs force them to be awake when they should be sleeping.

Truck drivers often work long hours trying to meet deadlines and may travel longer than they should. Drivers may also drive through the night adding to the risk of being in a drowsy driving related crash.

New parents and parents of young children often do not get adequate sleep trying to meet the demanding needs of parenthood. Newborns and sick children require extra time and add to parents’ lack of sleep.

What are the Warning Signs of Drowsy Driving? There are several warning signs a driver is drowsy. The following are all indications that the driver should pull over in a safe rest area to take a nap or switch drivers.

Repeated yawning

Driver inattention

Inability to keep eyes open and head raised

Not remembering the last few miles traveled

Missing a turn or exit

Having wandering or disconnected thoughts

Drifting out of the lane or hitting rumble strips

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What Can Be Done? The best approach is to get adequate rest before you drive. If you begin to feel drowsy, share the driving with a passenger or take a break every two hours or every 100 miles, or, find a safe rest area to pull off and take a nap.

This is more effective than trying to stay awake by opening the window, turning up the radio, or trying to get by with caffeine. It takes approximately 30 minutes for caffeine to be effective and the relief is only temporary. The only long lasting solution is to get adequate sleep. If fatigued after a shift, try to find a quiet place at work to sleep before getting on the road or ask someone to pick you up.

Getting Better Sleep! Getting sufficient sleep is important; on average Americans have a sleep cycle that requires 8 hours of sleep. In today’s fast paced world it can be difficult to get adequate sleep; however, we all need to make this a priority. Being well rested is not only important to driving but in our everyday life. Getting enough sleep important, so is the quality of your sleep.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle helps to promote good quality sleep. To improve the quality of your sleep try implementing the following suggestions:

Regular exercise promotes good sleep; however it should be done at least 3 hours prior

to bedtime.

Consistent sleep patterns - keeping a regular schedule of sleep and wake times even on

the weekends helps prevent sleeping disruptions.

Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine around bedtime. Alcohol increases the number of

nighttime awakenings. Caffeine and nicotine act as stimulants, which disrupt sleep.

AARP Smart Driver Class

1:00-5:00 p.m.

March 16, 2015

Altru Psychiatry Center

Grand Forks, ND

Call 701.780.5939 to register

Defensive Driving Class

9:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.

March 21, 2015

Altru Psychiatry Center

Grand Forks, ND

Call 701.780.5939 for information

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By the end of today, an average of six people will have died from alcohol poisoning, and it's a "surprising group" that's dying more than any other, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That adds up to an average of 2,221 people in the United States -- a conservative estimate, according to the CDC — dying annually, making it one of the leading preventable causes of death. The numbers come from death certificate data collected from 2010 to 2012.

Alcohol poisoning is when a person consumes a toxic amount of alcohol, usually after a binge of drinking.

Typically, "binge drinking" for men involves consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in two to three hours, according to the CDC. For women it's drinking four or more in that same period.

However, earlier research shows most of the 38 million or more Americans who admit to binge drinking say they actually drink about eight drinks in two to three hours and they do this on average four times per month.

When you are suffering from alcohol poisoning, your liver can't keep up with the amount of alcohol in your body.

Alcohol is a toxin and the liver has to filter it out of your blood. What the liver can't filter out backs up into your bloodstream.

If the blood alcohol concentration in your bloodstream becomes too high, it has a severe impact on your mental and physical self.

Your breathing could slow down and so could your heartbeat and your gag reflex.

If these don't work correctly, you could lose your breath and pass out or you could stop breathing.

Alcohol poisoning can also cause you to choke or cause your heart rhythm to become erratic. You could slip into a coma. Other signs that someone may be suffering alcohol poisoning include severely slurred speech, loss of coordination and vomiting.

Alcohol poisoning kills 6 people a day

By Jen Christensen

Did You Know?

“Moderate" drinking is defined as having up to one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men.

Binge drinking can cause alcohol poisoning.

White males between the ages of 35 and 64 are dying most often from alcohol poisoning.

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While college students get a bad rap for binge drinking, the study found it's not typically college age people who die from drinking too much.

In what the CDC said was a surprise, it found that white men between the ages of 35 and 64 are dying most often from alcohol poisoning. That demographic accounts for 76% of the deaths.

American Indians/Alaska Natives have the most alcohol poisoning deaths per million people, according to the report.

Alaska has the most alcohol poisoning deaths per million people, while Alabama has the least.

Thirty percent of the people who died were considered alcoholics.

Alcohol-attributed deaths cost the country in terms of workplace productivity and in the number of accidents they cause, which cost about $223.5 billion, according to 2006 figures.

Ileana Arias, the CDC's principal deputy director who helped release the report, called for more effective programs and policies to prevent binge drinking.

If you do drink, there are some benefits to a moderate consumption of alcohol.

"Moderate" is considered up to one drink a day for women or up to two drinks a day for men.

Arias said binge drinking is a serious and "critical health issue facing this nation."

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Parking can be a nerve-wracking experience for drivers, and for good reason: About 14 percent of all vehicle collisions that result in damage occur in parking lots, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

It’s true that the increased prevalence of rear-view cameras in vehicles has made it easier for drivers to safely back out of parking spaces, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has mandated that all new automobiles include some type of rear-view camera by 2018. However, rear-view cameras alone are not 100-percent reliable when it comes to avoiding parking lot collisions.

Scanning the Surroundings

According to Art Liggio, president of Driving Dynamics, apart from rear-view cameras, it is crucial for drivers to be fully aware of their surroundings while driving in and out of parking lots due to all of the quick and unpredictable activity that can take place, such as vehicles backing out and pedestrians walking through the parking aisles.

“The best thing drivers can do, as they’re entering a parking lot, is to keep their eyes up, focus farther ahead, and let their peripheral vision assist them with the activities that are close by. This way, they can identify outside movement seconds earlier and adjust their driving accordingly,” Liggio said.

Another strategy Liggio recommended for avoiding parking lot crashes is finding parking areas where drivers can move up to the forward space if it is not occupied by an-other vehicle, and if the parking lot is straight and not angled. According to Liggio, Driving Dynamics trained the 800-driver fleet of a Florida-based public utility company to follow the “pull-through” parking method when possible. The result: A 96-percent reduction in the company’s accident rate for backing and parking over a 15-month period.

How to Avoid Parking Lot Crashes

by Adam Pringle

A L T R U ’ S T R A U M A S E R V I C E S I N J U RY P R E V E N T I O N P R O G R A M

PO Box 6002

860 S Columbia Road

Grand Forks, ND 58206-6002

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Phone: 701.780.5939

E-mail: bvasicek@altru.org

“It is the one of the simplest ways to avoid incidents in lots, especially for large vehicles, or utility vehicles or trucks, that do not have a useful mirror system set up,” Liggio noted. In addition, Liggio suggested that drivers, if they have time to do so, try to find parking in sections of a lot where there are more spaces available and less competition for those spaces — specifically, the middle or rear of a parking lane instead of the front of the lane.

“It always amazes me that people so often circle around and around trying to find the closest spot to the building that they’re going to. That is where all the heavy congestion is,” he said.

Liggio recommended a number of other tips for backing out safely, including:

Doing a quick walk-around to make sure there are no obstructions near the vehicle.

Determining if people in the immediate area are getting in or out of their vehicles.

Honking the horn a couple of times when backing up.

Turning on emergency flashers if it is daytime, since back-up lights may not be as noticeable to other drivers.

Opening up the driver- and passenger-side windows to hear the nearby surroundings.

Liggio acknowledged that rear-view cameras are having a significant impact on reducing parking lot crashes, but added that they should be used in conjunction with traditional safe backing-up methods instead of as a replacement for those methods.

“People tend to become over-reliant on technology, and there are times where technology just cannot do the job. For example, you could have dirt on your sensors, or rainy weather or sun glare could affect the sensors,” Liggio said.

Ultimately, Liggio’s advice for avoiding parking-related crashes can be summarized in one simple phrase: “Do what you can to identify and be identified.”