Someone else putting a hat on your head never gets it right. It is always irritating, and enough to keep some folks awake. Like someone putting glasses on you. You always adjust them yourself or it just irritates the heck out of you, well me anyway.
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What do you do to stay awake on the drive home?
- Thread starter pasta4lnch
- Start date
Couldn't agree more.
If you're having to have methods to keep you awake, you are in no fit state to drive.
It's like coming up with ideas to keep you driving in a straight line when drunk.
Just plain don't do it. Arrange a taxi, book a motel; just don't drive tired and end up killing me or someone else who was doing nothing wrong.
Don't care, but you have no business behind the wheel when you are sleepy. None at all. zip, nada zilch
Agreed if your tired pull in and sleep for 30 to 45 mins, I used to drive trucks, and its way safer to pull in, no point in spending all your time (practising) & money (on gear)to end up in a ditch because you wouldn't pull in for a few zzzzzzzzzz
Unless, of course, you have a good way of getting rid of said sleepiness. A short walk around outside will do the trick for me.
I've got my commercial drivers license as well. There is no substitute for sleep. When you are sleepy, sleep. Nothing else works.
I can put in an 18 hour day and be extremely tired, but if I'm not sleepy I will not fall asleep. If I am well rested and have no reason to be sleepy, but am sleepy, I will not get behind the wheel. I close my eyes and sleep til it is safe to drive.
I HAVE woken up in the bottom of a ditch doing 75 before - not cool.
I can put in an 18 hour day and be extremely tired, but if I'm not sleepy I will not fall asleep. If I am well rested and have no reason to be sleepy, but am sleepy, I will not get behind the wheel. I close my eyes and sleep til it is safe to drive.
I HAVE woken up in the bottom of a ditch doing 75 before - not cool.
We had a regualar Sat. Nite Gig in Escondido and the return trip to Irvine was about 80 miles. After about the 2nd time driving home having a hard time keeping my eyes open, I was lucky enought to arrange to stay overnight at the Club owners home. It's not worth the risk.
Two words - hookers and crack!
No I'm really too old for that. Luckily , I don't have to do that many late long drives anymore. Most of my stuff is pretty close to home, 30 minutes, or an hour at most.
There are nights that I know I drove home but I have no memory of it. Scary now, but being young and invincible is cool. These days I'm the boss at work, so we quit early on Friday so I can get home and get a nap in. I don't always sleep but I rest.
This probably sounds dorky, but I usually have a 5 hour energy shot thing before I go on with the thought that it should be wearing off shortly after I arrive home.
No I'm really too old for that. Luckily , I don't have to do that many late long drives anymore. Most of my stuff is pretty close to home, 30 minutes, or an hour at most.
There are nights that I know I drove home but I have no memory of it. Scary now, but being young and invincible is cool. These days I'm the boss at work, so we quit early on Friday so I can get home and get a nap in. I don't always sleep but I rest.
This probably sounds dorky, but I usually have a 5 hour energy shot thing before I go on with the thought that it should be wearing off shortly after I arrive home.
If you say "don't do this," it's helpful to offer a useful alternative.
Pulling off the road by itself doesn't do anything. If I'm sleepy now, more time passing is only going to make me more sleepy. Somehow I doubt this would be an improvement.
People keep saying this.
But most of my gigs are at night. I can't sleep at night for just 30-45 minutes. If I'm sleepy, and it's night time, and I actually try to sleep, I will be out for several hours. Therefore, this doesn't work.
Sartori said:
So sleep for several hours then, or decline these gigs that turn you into a hazard to yourself and others. Being sleepy is just as bad as being drunk, so don't try to justify your actions by saying it doesn't work. You need to deal with this. It IS a serious matter.
I turned down a regular gig with great pay because the commute, and the sleepiness, weren't worth the risk. This was a very good paying gig - buy a new fender USA a week - gig.
My life is worth more.
I wrecked a car once in my younger days. Fell asleep a couple of blocks from my place, but had no idea how exhausted I was - hadn't even been drinking and it was a quick cross-town drive. Nobody got hurt including myself, which was absolutely incredible, since the car got murdered and I even knocked down a utility pole. Miracle witnessed. Lesson learned.
Now I just stack the odds in my favor, especially after a long show where I've spent a whole lotta energy and still need to drive. I might have one beer early in the evening at a gig, but I'll usually make sure that the cold ones are waiting for me in the fridge at home.
I pulled several 9+ hour hauls between home and the Norfolk, VA area back in my navy years. Coffee and chewing tobacco were helpful at first, but that chew is simply nasty stuff. I found that I could stay amped up really well just by keeping a good supply of chewing gum handy. I'm way more frosty behind the wheel when I'm jawing away on that stuff.
Now I just stack the odds in my favor, especially after a long show where I've spent a whole lotta energy and still need to drive. I might have one beer early in the evening at a gig, but I'll usually make sure that the cold ones are waiting for me in the fridge at home.
I pulled several 9+ hour hauls between home and the Norfolk, VA area back in my navy years. Coffee and chewing tobacco were helpful at first, but that chew is simply nasty stuff. I found that I could stay amped up really well just by keeping a good supply of chewing gum handy. I'm way more frosty behind the wheel when I'm jawing away on that stuff.
I agree with you guys. But I'm shocked by the can't/won't attitude, which is worryingly close to the "it's worse to drive with a hangover than drive drunk" idea that used to be about.
Do you look after your bass? Put it in it's case, polish it? Funny how people care about all that, yet will risk falling asleep at the wheel.
Makes me worry about driving late at night.
I've never fallen asleep at the wheel, not even close. Paranoia, among other things, keeps me awake. It's often difficult for me to believe that people seriously do fall asleep driving (I can't fall asleep riding in the passenger seat of a car, even). Blasting loud music and turning the air conditioner on are more to keep me focused than awake.
Sleeping for several hours on the side of the road? Are you nuts? Besides the fact that such isn't really that safe, and in some areas likely of dubious legality, keeping the car overnight when someone needs it for work the next day is lame.
