Driving risks

[Blackbird]

Re-posted here at the request of XP@

from the Akilla website (http://www.akilla.co.nz/)

1. If you drive after staying awake for 24 hours you are as dangerous as someone who is above the blood alcohol legal limit in New Zealand !

2. On four hours sleep one bottle of beer has the same effect on a driver’s control and reaction times as a six-pack of beer !

3. In Victoria, Australia they have introduced The Crimes (Dangerous Driving) Act 2004 and a driver who falls asleep at the wheel and causes a fatal crash faces up to five years in jail. In New Jersey (United States) a driver who falls asleep at the wheel and causes a fatal crash faces up to 10 years in jail and a $US 100,000 fine.

4. When you are feeling tired a bright white light (e.g the Sun) can without warning cause the retina of the eye to signal the brain that it's time to sleep.

5. At 100 km/hr, your car travels 27 metres in a single second. During a three second micro-sleep your car travels 83 metres, which is almost the length of a rugby field. Drivers are not always aware that they are micro-sleeping.

6. Drivers under the age of 30 are four times more likely to have a drowsy driving related crash than drivers over 30.

7. Most drowsy driving crashes occur 10 minutes from home and in built up areas rather than rural areas.

8. Having a sleeping front seat passenger can be fatal. Research has shown that a driver can pick up the sleep breathing patterns of a passenger and then fall asleep themselves.

9. Undiagnosed and untreated sleep medical conditions can result in the driver blacking out without warning.

10. The smell of new cars (gases given off by the various chemicals that glue together a car’s new vinyl and plastic components) can have a dangerous sleep-inducing effect.

11. A United Kingdom study of a truck fleet showed that serious crashes soared half an hour after the consumption of fatty or sugary foods.

12. There is no research evidence to support that a rest from driving will help you if you are drowsy from sleep deprivation. One needs to sleep (e.g take a 15 minute Power Nap).

[XP@]

And here is the game...
http://www.ride4ever.org/tools/

Click on try the demo.

[scumdog]

Isn't there already a thread on this? - only a week or so old?

[justsomeguy]

Yup it's hugely dangerous......

Coupla years back me and a couple of mates decided to attempt a "driving record" with me driving..... did 1200ks in a day - bout 23 hours of non-stop driving apart from toilet and food breaks.....Auckland City to Cape Reinga and back in a beat-up 1300cc Corolla....

At the end- I was half awake.....2-3 seconds after passing through a red light - my mate equally dazed in the passenger seat would go - mate that was a red light - and I'd go shit......

Then he'd say take the next right - and I'd go which way is right??

Seemed when we woke up a day later and we our heads off......

But now come to think of it.............

Never drive for more than 3 hours without at least a 15 min break - where you eat something and drink a cup of coffee, V, Red Bull, etc......

[XP@]

Yup it's hugely dangerous......

Coupla years back me and a couple of mates decided to attempt a "driving record" with me driving..... did 1200ks in a day - bout 23 hours of non-stop driving apart from toilet and food breaks.....Auckland City to Cape Reinga and back in a beat-up 1300cc Corolla....

At the end- I was half awake.....2-3 seconds after passing through a red light - my mate equally dazed in the passenger seat would go - mate that was a red light - and I'd go shit......

Then he'd say take the next right - and I'd go which way is right??

Seemed when we woke up a day later and we our heads off......

But now come to think of it.............

Never drive for more than 3 hours without at least a 15 min break - where you eat something and drink a cup of coffee, V, Red Bull, etc......

That is where bikes with 200km fuel tanks are good cos you have to take a break.

But you should not be drinking coffee see here:
http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm

... oh, and the thread is cross posted here for the survival aspects :-)

[John]

Its rather scarey, I often ride without sleep but normally feel more-so awake that after a full sleep after I flick the starter, Hopefully nothing will come of this, I never make it a habit on long rides only, its normally a short ride.

Its scarey stuff, but its all common sense really :\

[scumdog]

As I mentioned earlier, there is a thread "12 Interesting Safety Facts" started earlier, it's got 29 posting so maybe a computer savvy type could merge these two??