Thanksgiving is a time when many families come together, often driving long distances for a once-a-year gathering over dinner. It’s a traditional dating back to the days when the Pilgrims had first arrived in America and American Indians helped these new, yet strange neighbors celebrate the first successful harvest.
In today’s society, it is a time when U.S. roadways are bumper-to-bumper with millions of Americans traveling to visit family and friends. During this time of travel, the National Sleep Foundation and Awake In America urges all drivers to stay safe and drive alert while on the roadways this holiday season by getting adequate sleep before hitting the road, but also by watching out for signs of sleepiness behind the wheel.
Royal Philips Electronics launched a program aimed at the trucking industry with hopes of increasing awareness of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a potentially fatal sleep-breathing disorder that can negatively affect drivers and impact trucking companies.
Operated by Philips Respironics, the “Sleep Well, Drive Safe” program is designed to educate trucking company owners and create greater awareness of possible ways to reduce drowsy driving.
When daylight savings ends Sunday morning, roads may become more dangerous, says The National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. a non-profit that provides free driver safety films and programs for schools and other organizations.
“Once we move the clocks back this weekend, the drive home from work or school for many will likely be in the dark,” says Michelle Anderson of the National Road Safety Foundation. “The time change and earlier nightfall are a combination that’s a formula for drowsy driving — a condition many drivers fail to recognize. It can be as dangerous as drinking and driving.”
Driving drowsy can be as dangerous as drinking and driving. Sleepiness slows reaction time, decreases awareness and impairs judgment, all of which may lead to a greater likelihood for potential accidents.
Studied have shown that being awake for 24 hours straight is the equivalent of being legally intoxicated. And mixing lack of sleep and alcohol worsens the situation exponentially.
The benefits of “healthy driving” programs keep piling up for carriers in terms of healthier, happier, safer and more productive drivers, and all of that can’t help but boost retention rates while improving the bottom line.
Consider the case of Schneider National, Inc., for example. Earlier this year, Schneider National received the 2007 National Sleep Foundation Healthy Sleep Community Award for creating a groundbreaking obstructive sleep apnea OSA detection and treatment program for its drivers.
People with untreated and undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea have a markedly increased risk of severe motor vehicle crashes involving personal injury, according to a study presented at the 2007 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
