How can you prevent drowsy driving?

Getting enough sleep, taking breaks on long trips, and avoiding driving late at night is essential for preventing drowsy driving. Sleep deprivation greatly impacts alertness and reaction times, making it crucial to ensure you are well-rested before getting behind the wheel. Taking breaks during long trips helps to mitigate fatigue by allowing you to stretch, hydrate, and refresh your mind, thus improving focus and reducing the risk of falling asleep at the wheel.

Driving late at night can increase the likelihood of drowsiness due to the body's natural circadian rhythms, which tend to promote sleepiness during these hours. By avoiding nighttime driving and planning trips during times when you are most alert, you are reducing the risk of drowsy driving incidents significantly.

While caffeine can offer a temporary boost to alertness, it is not a substitute for sleep and does not mitigate the effects of tiredness in a significant way over the long term. Similarly, driving with the windows down may provide some physical stimulation but does not fully address the factors contributing to drowsiness.