I thought I could handle driving drowsy
… but then came the thump as I hit a safety cone on the obstacle course
We’ve all been there.
You’re on a long driving trip and only have a few more miles to go before you get to your destination, so you fight off your sleepiness and keep going. No big deal, you’ll be there soon enough.
Well, it is a big deal because it is, in fact, a form of impairment that compromises your safety and that of others on the road — an impairment that drivers often overlook or write off.
A recent study conducted by AAA showed that the percentage of road incidents that were reported to involve drowsiness is close to eight times higher than the federal estimate.
The study followed 3,593 drivers from around the U.S. from October 2010 through December 2013. To do this, the drivers’ cars were equipped with cameras, and their in-car behavior was monitored. A driver would be deemed drowsy if their eyes were closed for more than 12 percent of the video. In total, there were 905 driver-related crashes recorded in the study. For 204 of the 905 crashes, the driver’s eyes were mostly not visible in the moments preceding the crash.
Using the 701 available crash videos, the study concluded that drowsiness was identified in about 9 percent of all the crashes.
Upon hearing about this study, carmaker Chevrolet conducted a poll in some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country to see what kind of effect summer weather has on drivers.
Its team found that, nationwide, people did admit to being affected by summer conditions, with one-third of the 325 Houston drivers surveyed saying the heat made them feel drowsy. To highlight this issue during the summertime, Chevy created a Drowsy Driving Simulation Suit designed to show just how much drowsiness affects a driver’s abilities. And it brought this simulator to Houston for test drives.
So after getting a nice eight hours of sleep, I drove out to the large parking lot at Westchester Academy in the Memorial area where Chevy had set up an orange cone-lined obstacle course and stepped into this intricate simulation.
To mirror the sense of heaviness that comes with drowsiness, I had a set of weights attached to my body. One on each wrist, both ankles and one attached on my torso. It was a very noticeable amount of weight to take on — 23 pounds to be exact.
After putting on the type of weight that would make people question whether I had eaten my former self, I stepped into the test car, a brand-new 2019 edition Equinox. I then drove around the obstacle course a couple of times with the weights on.
It wasn’t too bad. Sure, it was a little harder to switch from the gas pedal to the brakes, but nothing more than a small nuisance.
To make the experience more difficult, I strapped on goggles that allowed me to see clearly and fully for 10 seconds before blinding me for one second. So I took the car out for a spin once again, goggles and all, and it was considerably harder.
I started driving noticeably slower and with my impaired vision, began noticing the added weight more. After about a minute of driving in this condition, I picked up on the pattern and drove more confidently and quickly.
Two rounds down and I had yet to hit any cones. I was feeling pretty confident in my skills and wondered how helpful this demonstration might actually be.
But like many 22-year-old
boys before me, my confidence was unfounded and soon to be destroyed.
For the next stage of impairment I was given four seconds of visibility through my goggles before being blinded for one second.
Oh, how the mighty fall.
Only a few minutes before, I was able to navigate the course pretty well. Now, I could barely switch the car from park to drive. I could only drive a few feet before being blinded and was driving slower than 10 mph. With hands and feet filled with trepidation, I started picking up my speed to see how this kind of drowsiness might feel in a real-life situation.
At 25 mph, it felt more like I was making my last turn at the Daytona 500 than circling an obstacle course.
And then it happened. THUMP.
I crashed into a cone. There I was schvitzing like a sinner in church in the driver’s seat, partly because of my recent 23-pound weight gain and partly because of the jolt of fear that came with crashing. Along with this, I felt a certain sense of relief that this was only a controlled demonstration.
I can’t imagine driving in that state out on a street, let alone the freeway, but it happens every day and to an even greater extent than this simulation leads on, said Chevy spokesman Dave Ladetto.
“The goggles actually close for one second, and in real life, it’s typically two to five seconds that your eyes are closed,” Ladetto said.
So if I was unable to drive safely with only one second of impairment in a car so high-tech that it was only half a step away from being Optimus Prime, what hope would I or anyone else have out on the road? The answer’s not much. The best way to prevent this, said Ladetto, is to look out for signs of your own drowsiness. This includes constant yawning, the feeling of heavy eyes and general lethargy.
Ladetto also warned against looking to energy drinks and coffee as a solution to your drowsiness, because that can be unreliable and leave you in a jittery state.
But there are some ways to prevent this from happening.
“The number one way to stop from being drowsy is to get a good night’s sleep,” said Ladetto, “Even if that means having to get a hotel room last minute.”
And if you absolutely need to drive, keep your mind active to help prevent drowsiness. Ladetto suggests listening to a stimulating podcast.
So put on that enthralling political round talk show or your favorite comedian’s newest album and drive alertly into that good night.