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What do you do to stay awake on the drive home?

#61
I'll just reiterate because I've seen too many accidents happen because the driver was half asleep: If you are tired, park, and take a nap for a few hours, then caffeinate and get your ass home for a repeat nap. If you *have* to be somewhere in the morning, you've got a scheduling problem... it's not worth your own life, or that of your fellow motorists/pedestrians/etc.
 
#64
Some of the answers on here are quite funny.. but!

Seriously, the only thing you should be doing if you feel like you are going to 'nod off' is take a nap!! It doesn't have to be long to be effective.

It's not just about oneself.. many people have been killed by others falling asleep. I'm sure that some of those sleepers mangled cars were found with the windows down, radio playing and energy drink still in the cup holder.

And even if you don't fall asleep, driving ability is severely impaired by tiredness. Some say more than by drinking.
 
#69
An old man once told me to let someone else set your cap and don't touch it before you get home. Tried it and it works, as long as you don't have more than an hour or so to drive.

Eating, especially any pasta or breads only assures I'll be fighting sleep so that's out.

Coffee is an excellent way for me to stay awake. I don't drink it regularly because a single cup will have me bouncing of the walls for 6~8 hours, but if I need to stay awake to drive it's just the ticket.

I've also used NOS and it works just about the same as coffee. One bottle/can and I'm wired for sound.

Another thing that works well for me is a shower. When I'm bone tired, a shower is almost as good as a nights sleep to me.

I used to hang my head out the window until I was doing it one night in south Louisiana around 3 am and a bat hit me in the face and tumbled into my lap. I didn't know it was a bat until I had the car stopped and was holding the thing down in the floorboard with my foot. it was just good luck there was no one coming the other way or I would have run into them as I swerved all over the road while getting the thing out of my lap and into the floor, stopping the car, and trying to work brake, clutch, and critter restraint with just my two feet.
 
#70
I wouldn't drive if I was about to nod off. But if you feel a frazzled after a long nights practice or gig then cold water in the face before you set off, air con set to icy, loud music, and the - slightly extreme but rare - slap in the face does wonders to your general awareness.

Like most have said I'm usually too wired after a gig anyway.

I always try and get a nap (even five minutes) before the gig if I feel tired in general.
 
#71
It seems that most people seem to think there are tricks that will keep you awake and are willing to try them. The tricks are remarkably similar to "sobering up" techniques advocated by many before drink-driving became unacceptable. And they worked didn't they?

I've knew a guy who was killed because someone just hit them head on, on a clear road. Chances are it was Mr Sleepy. Why not just take a 10 minute nap?
 
#73
BritPicker said:
It seems that most people seem to think there are tricks that will keep you awake and are willing to try them. The tricks are remarkably similar to "sobering up" techniques advocated by many before drink-driving became unacceptable. And they worked didn't they?

I've knew a guy who was killed because someone just hit them head on, on a clear road. Chances are it was Mr Sleepy. Why not just take a 10 minute nap?
Click to expand...

Take it from someone who spent a LOT of time on the road for several years for my regular job, there are many ways to stave off fatigue so you can drive. As I mentioned, caffeine always works for me because for some reason it acts like I just took a nice bump of meth when I drink a cup of coffee or some other drink containing a healthy dose of it.

As for a 10 minute nap, forget it. Study after study has shown that sleep without reaching a REM state is not only worthless, but can actually be counterproductive. Short naps lead to what is known as "micro sleeps", nodding off for a few seconds and never realizing you've done it, and a few seconds with the cruise set at 70 is enough to wind up with a big assed mess on the highway. I had a long conversation about driving while sleepy with a grizzled old long haul trucker one night in a truck stop coffee shop where both of us were sitting because both of us were too tired to trust our driving. He claimed that a 90 minute nap was as good as 8 hours of rest when it came to recharging your driving batteries. Like you, I blew it off as so much rationalization for driving when one was too tired to be doing it, until I tried it. It didn't make me feel all fresh and rested, but I was clear and alert enough to push on another 5 hours behind the wheel when I had been looking for a motel to catch some z's and a shower before I decided to try the 90 minute catnap.
 
#74
fhm555 said:
I used to hang my head out the window until I was doing it one night in south Louisiana around 3 am and a bat hit me in the face and tumbled into my lap. I didn't know it was a bat until I had the car stopped and was holding the thing down in the floorboard with my foot. it was just good luck there was no one coming the other way or I would have run into them as I swerved all over the road while getting the thing out of my lap and into the floor, stopping the car, and trying to work brake, clutch, and critter restraint with just my two feet.
Click to expand...

This had me PEEING my pants!! Hysterical (though I'm sure it wasn't for you :eyebrow::D)

made me think of this ;)
i001266.jpg


as for the sleeping thing I have a point I hit where sleep is the way (usually stuck in pointless stopped traffic on the Jersey tpk at 3am) - but if I try to nod off before hand it doesnt work. I'll sit there awake.
 
#75
pasta4lnch said:
This had me PEEING my pants!! Hysterical (though I'm sure it wasn't for you :eyebrow::D)

made me think of this ;)
i001266.jpg


as for the sleeping thing I have a point I hit where sleep is the way (usually stuck in pointless stopped traffic on the Jersey tpk at 3am) - but if I try to nod off before hand it doesnt work. I'll sit there awake.
Click to expand...

:D
 
#76
PerlNinja said:
I'll just reiterate because I've seen too many accidents happen because the driver was half asleep: If you are tired, park, and take a nap for a few hours, then caffeinate and get your ass home for a repeat nap. If you *have* to be somewhere in the morning, you've got a scheduling problem... it's not worth your own life, or that of your fellow motorists/pedestrians/etc.
Click to expand...

The problem is that I CAN'T do this. If I pull over and try to nap, I will wake up the next day. I can't just be really tired at night and nap for a half hour to an hour. If I fall asleep, I will be out for the next 5-10 hours.

I wish people would stop acting like it's so easy.
 
#77
fhm555 said:
Take it from someone who spent a LOT of time on the road for several years for my regular job, there are many ways to stave off fatigue so you can drive. As I mentioned, caffeine always works for me because for some reason it acts like I just took a nice bump of meth when I drink a cup of coffee or some other drink containing a healthy dose of it.

As for a 10 minute nap, forget it. Study after study has shown that sleep without reaching a REM state is not only worthless, but can actually be counterproductive. Short naps lead to what is known as "micro sleeps", nodding off for a few seconds and never realizing you've done it, and a few seconds with the cruise set at 70 is enough to wind up with a big assed mess on the highway. I had a long conversation about driving while sleepy with a grizzled old long haul trucker one night in a truck stop coffee shop where both of us were sitting because both of us were too tired to trust our driving. He claimed that a 90 minute nap was as good as 8 hours of rest when it came to recharging your driving batteries. Like you, I blew it off as so much rationalization for driving when one was too tired to be doing it, until I tried it. It didn't make me feel all fresh and rested, but I was clear and alert enough to push on another 5 hours behind the wheel when I had been looking for a motel to catch some z's and a shower before I decided to try the 90 minute catnap.
Click to expand...

A single complete sleep cycle is about 90 minutes. So there is some scientific backing to this.

If you're going to get not enough sleep, it's best to get it in a multiple of 90 minutes. So an hour and a half, three hours, four and a half hours, six hours.

Last I heard, anyway. Science may have made this approach obsolete with new information.
 
#80
Sartori said:
My cap?
Click to expand...

It looks like a baseball cap, but it is/was (usually) given away by companies who advertise their product by way of their logo on the front of the cap. These free advertising caps were first produced for farmers. Not being actual baseball caps, they could not be referred to as such and it was simpler to just call them as caps rather than Deere caps, DeKalb caps, etc.


The guy who related the cap setting trick was a farmer and most farmers I know only talk to other farmers...and rednecks like me.
 

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