Staying awake while driving?

Orogogus · June 2007

Is there anything that works better than caffeine and a good night's sleep for staying awake and alert for a long drive?

I don't usually drink soda or coffee, but it's better than killing myself and other people, so I was thinking I'd bring some a few cans of Coke along. Curious if there was anything better, though.

aperlscript · June 2007

Stop at every single rest stop, even if you don't feel tired or think you need a break. Get out and walk around for 5 or 10 minutes.

KMFurDM · June 2007

Stop every two or three hours. And as has been said, walk around for a 5 to 10 minutes. Piss, drink some water, whatever.

If you even have to contemplate pounding an energy drink or something to stay awake a little longer, stop. Seriously. Get a room for the night.

Brodo Faggins · June 2007

Get some loud rock music. I find Disturbed can keep me awake for long stretches, interspersed with the occasional fast-beat techno.

DevoutlyApathetic · June 2007

Stopping and resting is much better than being dead. For me I'll pull into a rest stop, set an alarm (Cell Phone) for about 15 minutes and put the seat back and just rest. Then go in, grab a soda or something and walk around a bit so I'm awake then keep going.

Just pay attention to your body and when your reaction time slows or you start nodding off, pull the fuck over.

msuitepyon · June 2007

Chewing gum helps keep me up.

Fartz · June 2007

Open the windows all the way. The wind should help. But yeah, pull the fuck over if you feel yourself drifting off. My dad actually fell asleep driving a couple months ago. He had been up since 6 AM, took a 10 or so hour flight to Toronto from Rome, another hour and a half long flight to Halifax, started the nearly three hour drive home and fell asleep 5 minutes from our house. He only managed to veer right into the guardrail, causing somewhat expensive damage to our car. I say only managed because he'd probably be dead right now had he veered left and had there been traffic. My dad's been making this drive accident free for the 10+ years he's been running my school's Europe trip, and had even been singing along to the radio moments before falling asleep. You'll obviously not be driving under the same kind of jet-lag, but this shows how suddenly you can drift off.

Lewisham · June 2007

DevoutlyApathetic wrote: »

Stopping and resting is much better than killing an innocent person

Kate of Lokys · June 2007

As others have said, the best thing to do is be sensible. Lots of stops, lots of walking, keep your body active. Below are some of the little tricks I've found, though, for those times when the next rest stop is just a little too far away.

1. Listen to music you haven't heard before. Especially if it's something with audible lyrics, so you can concentrate on figuring them out. I used to drive 13 hours at a stretch fairly regularly, from southern Ontario through to Wisconsin, and I would listen to country music pretty much the entire way through Michigan. I don't actually like country music, I hate most of it, in fact, but just the fact that it was different made me pay attention. Something like NPR or talk radio could be good for this too, if you happen to catch something like Garrison Keillor on.

2. Keep yourself cold. Crank up the AC if you have it, put the windows down if you don't. Warmness leads to drowsiness, drowsiness leads to your eyes closing just for a second, your eyes closing just for a second leads to a concrete wall at 70mph. Being cold will help keep you alert.

3. Make some noise. Sing along to something at the top of your lungs, especially if you don't know the words. Keep up a running commentary on what you're seeing, force yourself to vocalize as many details as possible. Talk to yourself about where you're going, what you're going to do, etc. Or, if you have other people in the car, carry on a conversation with them, or play stupid word games.

4. Have snacks close at hand. Avoid pure sugar, that will just make you even more tired an hour later. Get something you can nibble on for a while, like almonds or granola bars. For drinks, again, skip the Coke and the overly-sweetened energy shit like Red Bull, and stick to water, as cold as you can get it. (Splashing a bit of water on your face and neck can help wake you up a bit, too, making it doubly useful).

Belketre · June 2007

Ask truck drivers what they use to stay awake.
No, that kinda borders on illegal advice I guess. hahah.

Anyway, making sure it's not too warm in the car helps a lot. The amount of caffiene in coke and coffee wont keep you awake if you're tired. Just dont drive tired, because it's not as if that hasn't got people killed before.

Uncle Long · June 2007

Try to do most if not all of the driving you need to do during daylight hours. I've found it's easier to stay awake during the day for some reason. If you start nodding off in the wee hours of the morning pull over and get a nap or something and try and hit that drive again when it starts getting light out.

Corvus · June 2007

Lewisham wrote: »

DevoutlyApathetic wrote: »

Stopping and resting is much better than killing an innocent person

Seriously.

Gafoto · June 2007

To avoid falling asleep while at the wheel, stop, set your cell phone alarm for 20 minutes, take a nap and then keep going. I concur on the short term stuff though. Music, AC or windows down all the way and not letting yourself get too comfortable. I keep shifting positions just while driving to keep a little blood flowing. Stopping to walk around is always good too.

localh77 · June 2007

What works for me, every time, without fail, is sunflower seeds. It requires just enough thought to not get tired, yet it doesn't take very much concentration.

cooljammer00 · June 2007

um, pulling over and napping?

seriously. it's not worth the risk?

STATE OF THE ART ROBOT · June 2007

The optimal answer is when you feel tired, stop and sleep for a while. It's questionable when I leave my friend's house at 3 A.M. for a 10-minute drive back to my house when I am feeling sorta tired. It is downright stupid to force yourself to drive when you are feeling tired.

Al_wat · June 2007

How long a drive are we talking here?

Anyways, things i've done are drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, eat snacks, play metal loud. Not that you would want to pick up smoking... but if you do smoke, have a smoke.

And yeah, if you are nodding off or are having a really hard time concentrating pull over and nap or get a hotel room for the night.

Penny Arcade

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