Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 6)
Drowsy Driver
Have you ever
been driving somewhere and doing everything in your power to stay awake? You chew gum, keep the window open for fresh air, and have the radio blasting, but nothing seems to help. All of a sudden your car veers to the right and the shoulder rumble strip wakes you up. You were driving drowsy if that, or a similar scenario, has ever happened to you. You may have been lucky that time. But what if you had drifted the other direction and run into another car, or hit a barrier? You could have been maimed or killed— or killed someone else—because you were driving with too little sleep.
Don’t Be a
Dire ConsequenCes
Here is just one story of what can happen when someone is driving drowsy: Sam (not his real name) and his family were driving home one day when a driver who fell asleep struck their van head-on. Sam’s wife suffered multiple fractures of her legs and pelvis and was unable to stand for weeks. His daughter had severe internal injuries and was in the hospital for more than a week. His baby son, who was properly placed in his backward-facing infant car seat in the middle row, was killed. The man who struck them suffered only wrist injuries. He’d been on an international flight the night before and admitted to the police to being asleep when the accident happened. He did not remember the impact. His sentence: $250 and suspended driving for one year with work privileges.
Too little sleep can spell trouble on the road
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Vim & Vigor • Fall 2 011
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