Drowsy driving: what to do before continuing your trip

Fighting sleepiness is difficult, but before taking control of a fleet vehicle, drivers must take every necessary measure to avoid drowsy driving.

For professional drivers, particularly those with more experience, getting enough sleep is essential for a healthy routine that ensures safe transportation.

Even with this awareness, they sometimes face more challenging trips and end up exhausted. That is why drivers and managers should learn more about the causes of and solutions to drowsy driving, avoiding unnecessary risks.

See below:

• What causes drowsy driving;
• What drivers should do if they feel sleepy at the wheel;
• How to monitor drowsy driving.

What causes drowsy driving

Besides sleep deprivation, when a driver has gone many hours without sleeping, other factors lead to fatigue and drowsiness while driving. For most adults, sleeping 7 to 8 hours a night is an important reference for health and mental functioning.

Medications, stress, illnesses, heavy meals and extreme temperatures are common reasons people feel sleepy — not only at the wheel, but in any situation. Many medications can cause drowsiness; therefore, if sleepy, the priority is to stop driving safely, rest and follow the fleet protocol.

More specifically when driving a vehicle, long trips can be monotonous and cause sleepiness after a long time on the road. Sleep deprivation can also impair focus and reactions, and drowsy driving is associated with serious accidents.

What drivers should do if they feel sleepy at the wheel

When drivers feel tired, they must stop the vehicle somewhere safe and rest. If sleepiness arises on the road, the safest action is to leave the road when possible, park in a suitable place and only return when no longer drowsy.

In addition, to avoid driving fatigue, drivers need to:

Recognize the signs of sleepiness

These include frequent yawning, heavy eyes, increased blinking and difficulty concentrating on their activities.

When these symptoms begin, drivers can lose control of the vehicle, change lanes without signaling, miss important road signs and react slowly to activity on the road.

That is why drivers need to stop the vehicle when they start to feel these signs. At that point, they should contact their manager, explain the situation and ask for guidance on what to do.

If there is already a protocol and/or agreed permission to rest, find an appropriate place and stop for the allowed time.

Some measures are needed to avoid excessive sleepiness at the wheel.

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Get good rest

The clearest solution to avoiding fatigue and drowsy driving is getting good rest every day.

Drivers also need to prepare according to the planned routes and trips. Because planning always takes place in advance, they know how many hours their trip will take and when they need to set off.

This lets them arrange to rest for the appropriate time before taking the wheel.

Avoid taking medication before driving

Various medications cause drowsiness or other symptoms, such as nausea. Therefore, if drivers are sleepy or notice an effect that impairs driving, they should not try to compensate with another medication or adjust the trip to keep driving tired.

In some cases, drivers choose to take stimulant medications to stay awake longer and reach their destination without stopping on the road.

However, this type of choice should not replace rest and a safe stop. If sleepy, the safe approach is to stop somewhere appropriate, rest and notify the manager according to the protocol. In other words, medications and stimulants should not be taken to force continued driving.

For long trips lasting many hours or even days, a useful approach is to prepare two drivers to take turns driving. That way, one can rest while the other drives, and vice versa.

Eat light meals

Drowsy driving can also follow a very heavy meal before taking control of the vehicle, which can cause sleepiness because those foods are digested more slowly.

Drivers should preferably choose less fatty meals and salads for a lighter, healthier diet.

This way, they can drive without problems after their break.

The manager's role in preventing drivers from feeling sleepy at the wheel

Although drivers are responsible at the wheel, it is important for fleet managers to recognize and fulfill their role too. That role is to plan drivers' routes and stops, indicate appropriate conduct in traffic and know how many hours drivers can drive in Brazil.

Monitor routes

Technologies such as fatigue cameras and video telematics exist to identify drowsy driving and prevent drivers from falling asleep while the vehicle is moving.

Both are based on cameras installed on the vehicle dashboard, which can identify signs of sleepiness at the wheel and sound an alert so the driver can take the necessary measures.

An alert is also sent to the monitoring center, allowing the supervisor to contact the driver and indicate the best action to take at that moment.

What distinguishes video telematics from a simple fatigue camera is that, as its name suggests, it works alongside telematics. That means tracking other vehicle information too.

This includes the average speed used on the route, number of stops, duration of each stop and other important data.

Manage working hours

Brazil's Lei do Motorista (Driver Law), number 13.103, contains specifications on the activities of both drivers and managers.

One concerns working hours: a professional driver's daily working hours total 8 hours, and specific break and rest rules apply according to the type of operation. When driving a freight transport vehicle in Brazil, 30 minutes of rest must be taken within every 6 hours of driving.

Planning routes and the stops drivers can make along the way is also part of this.

Managers should consider the expected trip time and required breaks to determine which break will be short and when the longer rest period will occur — for trips lasting several days.

They also need methods of controlling these hours worked, such as a logbook, time sheet, off-site work record, speed and time recorder or a fleet monitoring system that assists in driver management.

Instruct drivers on how to respond to sleepiness and fatigue while driving

Driver training should also include instructions and protocols on how to handle and respond to sleepiness at the wheel. After all, driving attentively and well rested is part of defensive driving practices.

The fleet policy, a document bringing together each employee's activities and the responsibilities and work ethics to follow, should also list protocols for specific situations. In this case, dealing with sleepiness while driving. Written policies and procedures can help when they are maintained, reviewed and updated to remain useful in everyday work.

Know the Driver Law and its specifications

The Driver Law, number 13.103 in Brazilian legislation, sets out some driver responsibilities (in Portuguese) within the fleet and managers' responsibilities for working hours management, as mentioned earlier.

Other details managers need to know about this Brazilian law include rules on meal breaks, daily rest and waiting time when loading or unloading the vehicle, for example. The law guarantees a minimum meal break of 1 hour and 11 hours of rest within 24 hours.

There is also an important point about how drivers' working hours management is carried out: the law states it must be reliable and authentic.

Therefore, you should have the appropriate and necessary tools for driver management. From there, it is the driver's role to take responsibility for making correct entries and demonstrating the ethics required in the job.
Learn more about these tools.