Falling asleep at the wheel of a moving car

Dear Heloise: Last year around this time, my husband and I were driving home from a long trip. I dozed off in the passenger seat, and my husband was driving on a back country road at about 11 p.m. We were both tired, and as you might have guessed, he fell asleep while behind the wheel. I thought I heard a horn honk- ing and someone yelling, so I opened my eyes, as did my husband. A young man and his wife were driving next to us and realized we had drifted off to sleep. Appar- ently, we were swerving all over the road! We pulled over, and they did, too. We thanked them profusely for saving our lives.

We were less than eight miles from home and might never have made it there if it weren’t for the young couple who helped us. They even followed us home to make certain we got there safely.

Every year, about 70,000 road accidents are caused by people who fall asleep behind the wheel of a moving car. If you’re tired, stop and get coffee, or roll down a window and sing along with the radio. If need be, get a room for the night or take a nap in your car with the doors locked. But, whatever you do, get off the road. You may well save your life and another person’s. — Joan C., Aberdeen, South Dakota

Joan, people driving at 60 to 70 miles an hour down a major highway have been known to doze off, and the results are usually tragic.

No matter where you’re going, if you are tired, get off the road. Wherever you’re going will still be there the next day. —

Home warranties

Dear Heloise: When I bought a new refrigera- tor last week, the salesman tried very hard to sell me an extended warranty. The extended warranty was for 24 months. I told him it was a brand new refrigerator, and it had better last beyond the warranty, or I’d be talking to my lawyer.

I found out later that most warranties are worthless, because large-ticket appli- ances usually don’t have problems right away. It’s more likely I’d have a prob- lem of some kind eight to 10 years after I purchased it, or possibly never. I bought my dryer 27 years ago and have never had a bit of trouble with it. Buying more cover- age for a new product would have cost me close to a thou- sand dollars! No, thanks! — Harriet H., Downey, Cal- ifornia

Harriet, many warranties are worthless. If you read the fine print, you have a sub- stantial co-pay, and you may be required to use a repair service of their choice, which might not even be close to where you live. They also have numerous exclusions, usually. —