Want to Combat Drowsy Driving? Add Truck Parking

About 328,000 accidents a year can be chalked up to drowsy driving, with about 6,000 causing fatalities. Through awareness great strides have been made in reducing drunk and distracted driving. It is important to turn attention over to drowsy driving. The National Sleep Foundation and  Stop Drowsy Driving.org hope to change that with the Sleep Awareness Week, March 11-18^th.

Truck drivers are at a greater risk of drowsy driving than the general population, so it is imperative for the industry to take this time to learn the signs of drowsy driving and how to prevent it. The signs for drowsy driving are as follows:

• Heavy eyelids, rubbing eyes, or prolonged blinking
• Yawning
• Head bobbing or nodding off
• Weaving, drifting out of your lane, hitting rumble strips
• Difficulty remembering the last couple miles driven
• Trouble focusing or concentrating
• Missing stop signs or other street signs

The best way to avoid drowsy driving is to improve sleep habits, but if you are already on the road and drowsiness hits:

• Pull over to a safe location and rest for an extended period of time
• Take a nap to refresh yourself (under 40 mins)
• Take a walk and stretch (may only provide short period of awareness)
• Have a cup of coffee or tea (may only provide a short period of awareness)

As with cargo theft, the lack of available truck parking exacerbates this very serious safety issue. Look at drivers who must pull over on the shoulder of local expressways like the Clearview or LIE. Communities such as Forest Hills, Queens are complaining about trucks parked on local roads (fair), but would they prefer drowsy drivers cruising those same streets? Two weeks after Sleep Awareness Week ends, out of service violations for ELD (Electronic Logging Device Mandate) noncompliance begin. Drowsy driving, lack of truck parking, and the ELD mandate can all be tied together. The investments made by New York State to reduce drunk and distracted driving are laudable. To seriously reduce drowsy driving, the state must invest in truck parking.

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