By Bob Difley
Safety is the number one objective when driving your rig on the nation’s roads, not only for your own safety but for other drivers on the road as well. There are some currently held beliefs of certain actions that you can take to keep you alert when driving, such as winding down the windows, turning on the air-conditioning, and turning up the volume on the radio.
Half of all people polled recently by Calm believe these widely held myths. Experts, however, warn that it’s a dangerous misconception, liable to risk the lives of drivers, their passengers, and others that share the road.
In a survey of 4,337 American, British, and French adults Calm found that lowering the car windows or turning up the air-conditioning will help you stay awake when driving was believed by 50% of Americans and 56% of all respondents.
“There are so many common myths about sleep that we wanted to find out which ones are, in fact, most widely believed,” says Michael Acton Smith, co-founder of Calm.
America’s National Sleep Foundation warns that such alleged “aids” to wakefulness don’t work and are downright dangerous:
“They are ineffective and can be dangerous to anyone who is driving while feeling drowsy or sleepy, as well as their passengers and others on the road. If you’re feeling tired while driving, pull off the road in a safe rest area and take a nap for 15–45 minutes.”
Not only will a short nap restore you and make your driving safer, but you will feel better and likely enjoy your trip more when not having to deal with the distraction of trying to fend off sleep.