Driving tired

Coming off a night shift, 7 of 16 men couldn't hold the car on a closed track.

Also called Drowsy driving, Fatigued driving, Falling asleep at the wheel, Driver sleepiness, Sleep-related crashes

Who it's forAny man who works nights, and any man still driving between 2am and 5am.

The item

Three squares: proven in human trials. Two: a strong signal. One: early human data. Striped: the trials disagree.

Willpower Recovery

Buffs

Hours awake degrade performance to measured blood-alcohol equivalents
Short sleep in the previous 24 hours raises crash odds, dose-dependently
Caffeine reduces driving errors in sleepy drivers
A short nap reduces driving errors in sleepy drivers
Driving between 2am and 5am multiplies crash odds independently
Drivers perceive the sleepiness before the driving fails
The drive home from a night shift produces near-crashes on a closed track
Cold air and the radio do not reduce lane-drift incidents
An acute night without sleep degrades lane control faster than an equivalent cumulative debt
Microsleep episodes cluster around 1 to 15 seconds in drivers

Debuffs

Know firstFalling asleep at the wheel, most often as a single-vehicle run off the road
Know firstImpairment at drink-drive levels with no roadside test that detects it
Know firstMicrosleeps of 1 to 15 seconds that leave no memory of themselves
ManageableCaffeine taken late to finish a drive erodes the sleep already owed
ManageableRebound sleepiness when the caffeine clears mid-journey
ManageableA nap over 15 minutes leaves grogginess in the first minutes back on the road
MildSleep inertia for a few minutes after waking in the car
MildCaffeine jitter at 200 mg in men who rarely drink it

“Don't drive home off a night shift. Sleep first, or get somebody to drive you.”

Emergency: call 911.

I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This is self-education. Talk to a physician who has your history before you change anything.