Long distance driving and tips to help you stay awake behind steering wheel

Holiday period is rolling around fast....while some folks plan to fly off with families to spend year end holidays some would love to use the time for going on long-distance drives.

Holiday season has been notoriously known for being the busiest long distance travel times. Why notorious? Most year-end road accidents reported will be from long distance holiday travelers who drove rash or who drove after drink or who were sleeping behind the wheels. Sad ain't?

Who would not love to drive? Believe or not there's more that I wait or look forward to than jump into my car's driver's seat and go on long drive with my loved ones.



Indeed it's a wonderful feeling of the open roads and highways welcoming your drive and car, and its an inexplicable feeling that one has to experience but cannot be told.

But there were times when I doze off behind the wheel. Just like how drinking and driving don't mix, sleeping behind the wheel is a strict NO NO, and you can't say that you were too tired because it costs lives. You don't want to end the pleasure of long-distance drive by mourning. Do you?

So here I present some tips that you can follow to keep you stay awake while driving.

If you are unlucky and happened to be driving with no one in the car, switch on the music player and play some songs. Have an upbeat or a fun song played and you try to croon along with it. It will be difficult to fall asleep when you are singing, But if you start feeling bored and disturbed by sleep-induced yawns, its time to change over to another CD.

If you are fortunate to have people in the car with you, you can strike up an interesting conversation with them. However, make sure you don't want to start on a topic that is dry (you don't find them interesting anytime) and sleep inducing. You also don't want to talk about something that will lead to an argument either. Talk about movies, talk about kids, schools, anything about that could arouse your interest and drives away any boredom that can creep in.

If you are too tired and have people who can drive traveling with you, trade off the driving job so it will be less taxing. That said, you guys have to maintain a speed limit never play race games with people; speed thrills but often times ends in kills.

If you start feeling tired, do not hesitate but take a pit stop and enjoy small break. May be, you can stop the car at a petrol pump and come out of the vehicle to stretch or just take a few steps around. Even if you have had to take many pit stops, do not hesitate to take them, because you need to get the blood pumping.

Drinking coffee, tea or soda can also help you stay awake. If not trying eating plain sugar (carry some in your car) also can help. Take some snacks in between, doesn't mean you have to enjoy a full barbeque that will make you comatose, but to keep the energy levels high, as in a handful of peanuts or biscuits or some chips.

You can also play some scrabble or word building games or even play the antyakshari of songs. Let me tell you they are so much fun and they will keep the sleep devil off a mile from your car.

Do not keep the car insides too warm to induce sleep, you may open the windows to allow the blast of cold breeze inside that can drive off the sleep. You can also carry wet towel in a plastic cover. The moment you start feeling tired and sleepy, put the wet towel on your forehead or neck and allow a blast off cold air by turning on the AC or opening the window. The short and swift blast of the cold breeze will keep you awake and alert for some time sure.

While these tips may sound silly and laugh worthy, they are tried and tested ones. More than any thing it is very important to know that several car accidents happen due to a sleepy driver behind the steering. So following the aforesaid tips will keep you awake as you drive and will keep the people traveling with you safe too.
All said never over stretch yourself to continue driving when you are really very sleep despite trying all the tips, your body is demanding some good sleep. It pays to stopping the car at a small rest bungalow or hotel for a snooze stop.