VERY IMPORTANT – If you have even one of these symptoms you could be sleepier than you think. Pull off the road and get some sleep. Obviously it’s dangerous to drive with your eyes closed. Do not sleep on the shoulder of a freeway, but find a safe spot off the freeway, like a gas station lot or 7/11 – and grab a quick cat nap.

AAA Foundation research identified some of the risk factors implicated in drowsy driving crashes.

Ask yourself these questions:

If you have any of these indicators you are at a much higher risk of having a drowsy-driving crash, even if you don’t feel sleepy. Half the drivers who had drowsy-driving crashes said they felt “only slightly sleepy” or “not at all sleepy” right before the crash.

Falling asleep at the wheel accounts for a large number of vehicle accidents that occur under monotonous driving conditions (such as driving on long, smooth, relatively non-winding roads). Of course, boredom is often seen as an antecedent to drowsiness. If investigators believe that driving conditions are very likely to give rise to listlessness, they may be more likely to explore the possibility of drowsiness as a cause in the accident. What this indicates is that investigators may overlook the possible importance of drowsiness as a contributing factor.

Involvement in drowsy driver crashes is also strongly related to the gender and age of the driver. In the years between 1990 and 1993, male drivers comprised a higher proportion of drivers who fell asleep than they did among all drivers. Approximately one third of the drivers who fell asleep were 18-24 years old, whereas the people in this age range comprise only 19 percent of all drivers (New York State Task Force on the Impact of Fatigue on Driving / Team to Explore the Nature and Scope of Drowsy Driver Crashes in New York State 1994). Horne and Reyner (1995) have found that young adults, those under 30 years old, especially men, are the most likely to have these accidents, especially in the early morning hours. These drivers were the most prevalent group of road users during this time of day. Older adults may be more prone to these accidents in the early afternoon hours. Further investigation is needed concerning this relation between gender, age and drowsy driving.

Additional AAA studies:

Informal group discussions with an assemblage of 25 Philadelphia college students, from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Temple University, revealed that the respondents usually employ the following behavioral techniques to combat drowsy driving:

Of the aforementioned behaviors, the most common technique employed by the participants were as follows:

Note: – Get a good nights sleep, especially if you’re going on a long distance trip. Avoid consuming alcohol if you’re driving, also sleep time cold medications and using sleep aid medications. And don’t mix medications with medications. Alcohol is a DRUG!!! Alcohol can change the way your medications react. You’re putting a drug on top of another drug when you take medications and then drink alcohol. In some cases, whether you’re driving or not, this behavior could lead to some very serious problems – like death! Especially behind the wheel. – Monica Zech

Remember – “You need to be 100% alert behind the wheel to be a safer driver and avoid collisions.” – Monica Zech

*Another web site to look at is called P.A.T.T. – People Against Tired Truckers. Yet another problem to be aware of when those who drive large semis on long distance trips nodding off behind the wheel. They tend to take large numbers of vehicles off the roadway.

From P.A.T.T.: There has been an unfortunate increase in large truck deaths from 5,036 in 2003, to 5,190 in 2004!

2004 Truck Crash Deaths per 100,000 people. In 2001, 429,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 lbs.) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States: 4,793 were involved in fatal crashes. A total of 5,082 people died (12 percent of all the traffic fatalities reported in 2001) and an additional 131,000 were injured in those crashes.

POSTED: 11:33 am PDT July 11, 2006
UPDATED: 11:53 am PDT July 11, 2006

VAN NUYS, Calif. — Police said an eight-and-a-half-month pregnant woman had some horrifying moments when a driver drove right into her.

Van Nuys police said the pregnant woman was leaving a doctor’s appointment and saw her car had been hit.

After confronting a female driver about the incident, the driver allegedly ran into her.

The victim was tossed onto the hood of the car then fell on the sidewalk, police said.

A Los Angeles news station reported the driver had been taken into custody and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

The expecting mother and unborn child are said to be doing fine.
2006 by 10News.com

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Driver sought in road-rage incident

January 28, 2006

PACIFIC BEACH – Police are seeking the public’s help in finding the driver of an early 1980s light metallic blue Datsun 280ZX coupe involved in a road-rage incident that critically injured a motorist Jan. 11.

The Datsun had black rubber bumpers, and a California license plate with yellow print and a partial plate number of 1SF. It carried a surf board.

Police said the encounter began about 7 a.m. in the 1300 block of Garnet Avenue in a convenience store parking lot.

After a minor traffic collision between two vehicles, the drivers got out to exchange information. One man returned to his car, put it in reverse and drove over the other man who was writing down a license plate number, trapping him under the car, police said. The driver pulled forward and back several times before speeding off.

The driver was described only as in his early 20s. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.

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$2 million bond set in alleged road-rage death

By Dana Littlefield
Union Tribune STAFF WRITER

June 24, 2005

An Oceanside man pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he ran over and killed a truck driver on Interstate 5 during what police said was a road-rage incident in October.

Marc Damon Grossi, 42, faces charges of murder and hit-and-run resulting in death in connection with the death of Jorge Negrete, 47, of Kern County.

Grossi was arrested Sunday in Santa Monica on suspicion of lewd conduct and turned over to authorities in San Diego County.
San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski set Grossi’s bail at $2 million. If convicted, Grossi could be sent to prison for 26 years to life.

Authorities said Grossi and Negrete got into an altercation on Oct. 9 and pulled over onto the shoulder of I-5 near Clairemont Drive across from Mission Bay.

Deputy District Attorney John Ristad told the judge that Grossi believed Negrete had cut him off several times. When Negrete got out of his truck, Grossi ran over him and drove off, Ristad said. Negrete died at a hospital.

Police said Grossi had been at large until Sunday when he was questioned by Santa Monica police. He reportedly presented a falsified vehicle registration and an identification card that didn’t appear to be his.

A fingerprint check revealed Grossi’s identity and he was arrested on a warrant in the San Diego case, San Diego police said.

Defense attorney Kerry Armstrong said in a telephone interview that Santa Monica police contacted Grossi because an officer saw him urinating into a cup inside his car.

Armstrong said his client became frightened as Negrete walked toward him. When Grossi tried to pull his car back into traffic, he inadvertently clipped Negrete, Armstrong said.

“I really think this was 100 percent an accident,” the attorney said.

Armstrong also said Grossi has vision problems because of an injury. He said Grossi’s vision might become an issue in this case.

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Other Past cases:

Note: I’ll continue to post the cases I learn about…I also give lectures in controlling the rage – if interested contact me at (619) 441-1737 or by email at monicazech@cox.net

Stay safe and sane behind the wheel…
Monica Zech

Some areas I lecture on….

First of all, with the news of rising gas prices – for the average motorists…the best way to handle and conserve gasoline usage is to “stop driving aggressively” – this will also reduce the risk factor of being involved in a collision. It’s a win-win situation.

What is aggressive driving? Plain and simple “breaking laws made for our safety”, such as; driving above posted speed limits – also known as speeding, rushing yellow lights and running red lights – these habits are among the biggest killers in traffic. Also, rolling through stop signs (the California roll), tailgating, constant unsafe lane changes, not using signals – all are signs of aggressive driving.

Motorists – by breaking laws we increase our chances of being in a collision – and we’re burning more fuel. You’re also wearing out their vehicles faster.

Motorcyclists are at an increased danger due to lack of protection on a motorcycle except for the use of good FULL helmet – not those skull cap, beanie cap type helmets.

Seat belts & safety car seats are your biggest life-savers! (See my section on “Is your child buckled up correctly”. But seat belts, if worn correctly – “save lives”.

Speed! What motorists don’t realize about speed will kill them and their passengers – and those they may run into. Motorists don’t realize the crushing factor involved in speed. Basically, at 10 miles per hour (mph) on your speedometer – your crushing impact is equal to being dropped from a “one story” building. 30 mph equals a crushing impact of being dropped from a 3 story building. At 50 mph we start seeing more deaths involved in collisions, and you DOUBLE your chances of being killed in a crash for every 10 mph over 50mph -so at 60 mph you’ve doubled your chances of being killed if involved in a collision. Also keep in mind, the lowest recorded death of someone “not” wearing a seat belt, involved in a crash, was just 12 mph. If more people knew or were taught this – the death factor would probably come down.

Our research also shows “women” -formerly known as soccer moms and now known by “hurried woman syndrome”- are involved in more of these types of collisions. But men were not too far behind in the stats for aggressive driving. It’s anyone in a hurry – or what I call “the rush to die.”

Driving Under the Influence – (DUI) of a drug is a contributing factor to “road rage.” It’s the most abused drug behind the wheel, known as the legal drug called “ALCOHOL”! Alcohol, in the drug category is a “depressant”! A safe rule of thumb, to avoid tickets and collisions – any amount of alcohol in your blood system is considered dangerous behind the wheel. Parents are among those high stats of DUI drivers – injuring and killing their own families. Even driving under the influence of other drugs – even cold medication like “NyQuil” is dangerous. Alcohol is a “depressant” – this type of drug slows down the body’s reaction time and thinking, with an “I don’t care attitude”. It also increases driving aggressively – and quick road rage reaction…also running red lights and stop signs. I know the dangers professionally and personally since my father was killed by a DUI driving June 5, 1992, and my daughter was injured recently, February 10th when she was struck by a 17 year old DUI driver. Luckily minor injuries. DUI is a 24/7 problem, not just during the holidays, or Friday or Saturday nights.

I also discuss teaching your children to respect safety and being a good safety role model for your children – especially when driving. Making sure every one’s always buckled up, not “driving aggressively” – and especially NOT DRINKING AND DRIVING WITH YOUR FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE – OR IF YOUR HAVE A FAMILY WAITING AT HOME FOR YOU!!! I love talking to parenting groups on this one. If you wear seat belts – your children will wear theirs…the same issue when riding your bikes together – if YOU as a parent wear a helmet – your children will wear theirs, especially when you’re not around.

To contact me (619) 441-1615 – to schedule a lecture or email me at monicazech@cox.net

Monica Zech
Public Information Officer & Safety Educator
City of El Cajon, Police & Fire

Too many “yes” answers could mean an older person may not be able to handle the vehicle in an emergency situation. Experts also say it’s not a good idea to rely solely on the state testing agency that tests drivers and issues driver’s licenses. People who have reflex problems can squeak by and still pass the test.

Testing Driving Ability

To get a better idea of an older person’s driving skills, rehabilitation centers and insurance companies offer tests that objectively rate driving ability. Moreover, some senior centers, hospitals, retirement communities and civic organizations offer driver improvement programs for seniors who never really learned good motoring habits—but are perfectly capable of doing so.

Starting the Discussion

Many family members rely on the older driver’s doctor to let him or her know it might be time to think about giving up the car. The physician considers muscle strength, eye sight, reflexes and general overall health, along with questions about close calls in traffic.
“When a relative notices the senior’s car is chronically bumped and dented, it may be a good time to gently inquire about his or her driving skills,” Dr. Spier says. But the best way to approach the topic, according to Spreitzer-Berent, is tactfully. Don’t just blurt out: “You’re 87 years old, Dad. You’re just too old to drive anymore!” Instead, try: “Dad, I’m a little worried. I noticed a lot of new dents and scratches on your car. What’s been happening?” You may even find that Dad is relieved to talk about it.

If early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia become evident, Dr. Spier suggests it may be kinder to hide the car keys or even disconnect the battery so the car can’t start. Because these early symptoms are accompanied by a fair degree of frustration, hiding the keys might cause a tantrum or outburst, but it will pass quickly.

Getting Around Without a Car

Buses, taxis, and vans operated by senior citizen centers, hospitals, municipal transportation systems and retirement centers are very helpful. Many seniors also count on family and friends for rides. Dena S., a Boston woman who stopped driving about two years ago has a standing “date” with her 25-year old granddaughter. “She picks me up on Saturday mornings and I have a list of errands that I need to do. We finish up around noon and I take her to lunch. It gives us an opportunity to catch up on family gossip, her life, and makes me feel young again.”

For seniors on a fixed income, giving up the car is also cost effective. “When you add up all the costs associated with owning your own car, it is usually much more cost-effective to take a taxi,” says Dr. Spier.

It may not be necessary to give up driving altogether. If poor vision becomes a problem, an older relative can plan to drive only during the day. If a senior motorist tires easily or gets disoriented in new places, he or she can concentrate on doing errands that are closer to home.

Many Seniors Drive Just Fine
It is not true that all seniors should stop driving. “Numerous national studies paint a more positive picture of mature drivers than many expect,” says Spreitzer-Berent. “Reports show that mature motorists are not involved in a disproportionate number of car crashes.” And in fact, insurance rates reflect this fact. In most states, drivers under age 25 pay higher premiums than drivers over age 65. Stress and fatigue may cause some fender-benders among older drivers, but it’s also a problem with all driving age groups.
Getting more sleep will help you to be more alert behind the wheel, and of course “wearing that seat belt” and obeying all traffic laws made for our safety. – Monica Zech – Safety Educator

RESOURCES:
Association of Driver Educators for the Disabled (ADED)
Drivers.com – Drivers.com
Drivers 55 plus: test your own performance, publication number 362. The American Automobile Association website. Available at: www.aaa.com
DMV website – California DMV