[Sn1p3r]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

At times when I start a trip early in the morning (around 5:30am) I have felt a little bit drowsy - even after a decent night's sleep. What has worked for me is not using the day/night feature of the IRVM of my car and letting some of the light from the following vehicles fall on my eyes.

Though it might help you stay awake, its making your brain tire faster as its trying to adjust to the contrast of what you see in front vs the light directly in your eye. I would not recommend this.

Try Apple my friend. It's a wonder fruit to keep you awake. Cheers!

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by Hayek

If you are fatigued, DO NOT drive. I don't see a material difference between driving while excessively fatigued, and driving while drunk - in both cases, you pose a danger to yourself and more importantly, to others on the road.

Use public transport if possible, or try and arrange your sleep schedule to avoid fatigue, or hire a driver (and insist that he report to work fresh for your early morning drive).

Red Bull is no different from having a cup of strong coffee for other applications (eg exam preparation, night outs at work etc.), and I don't think you will be materially worse off with it or with something else.

3 excellent points Hayek.

Red Bull is merely a fleeting caffeine/sugar high and has no proven capacity to counter fatigue over extended periods of time. Moreover long-term effects of consumption of Red Bull on a regular basis have been debated extensively - not least of all by the US FDA.

I think there is no substitute to adequate rest before driving and/or napping in between if you're feeling tired or exhausted. A good old cuppa or some fruit juice might better serve your purpose while on extended drives.

For interstate road trips during my days in the US, I would often resort to short naps at gas stations followed by a refreshing beverage like tea/coffee/juice. Never more than moderately high in strength and never as a rule, sodas or carbonated drinks. Worked just great for me. If the fatigue was overpowering, just break your journey and find the nearest motel.

[nettooran]

I once took Appy fizz on a regular nap break during a highway ride in the night. Somehow I felt it gave me a kind of energy to stay awake. I am sure that my finding is not scientific, but somehow I have a psychological feeling that it helps me to stay awake.

[ankan.m.blr]

I have a slightly different question & not related to driving fatigue.
There are times when I need to start my journey as early as 3-30 AM. After driving for say 10-15 mins, I see all the passengers in the car sleeping, the cool air of the night flowing in. I start feeling very sleepy & start yawning. More so because I can seldom sleep the night before a long drive. My query is, if I drink a red-bull/cappuccino before starting my car, can I avoid this sleepy feeling?

OT: Is it only me or are there are other T-BHPians too who find it difficult to sleep the night before.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

OT: Is it only me or are there are other T-BHPians too who find it difficult to sleep the night before.

You are not alone.

I have a slightly different question & not related to driving fatigue.
There are times when I need to start my journey as early as 3-30 AM. After driving for say 10-15 mins, I see all the passengers in the car sleeping, the cool air of the night flowing in. I start feeling very sleepy & start yawning. More so because I can seldom sleep the night before a long drive. My query is, if I drink a red-bull/cappuccino before starting my car, can I avoid this sleepy feeling?

Yes, starting your journey after a cup of tea/coffee will definitely help push out the grogginess.

I also take a bath even if I am leaving the house at 3 AM. That jolts me out of my sleep completely!

[Swanand Inamdar]

I happened to read somewhere that an apple helps you in keeping awake, more than a cup of coffee would. Try it one morning. After getting up, before having the regular tea/coffee, bite into an apple and see the effects.

Even while long drives, its better to chew on an apple, than to go in for red bulls or some such artificial sugar kicks. A can, once in a while is ok, but definitely not, as a habit.

Best remedy for late night driving is, a power nap when its really required. As they always say, its better to reach a destination late, than never to reach at all!

On a lighter note: For those who smoke, its the best possible bahana to stop for a quick smoke

[lordofgondor]

Water, glucon-d & chocolate bars; all that's required by me for those long drives. Of course, one needs to start fresh and for that one needs a good night sleep. Also taking regular breaks, say after every two hours, makes a huge difference on how long can one continue without exhaustion setting in.

[Warwithwheels]

Thanks guys for all your valuable inputs. Completely dropped the idea of using energy drink to reduce driving fatigue as a permanent solution. Enough has been said about its ill effects in the above posts.

BTW... was reading thru's this excellent by GTO.

Found this interesting point

Originally Posted by GTO

Drive with your air-conditioner in "fresh air" mode. If you prefer "recirculation" mode instead, remember to switch to "fresh air" mode once every 60 minutes or so. Letting fresh air in will keep your cabin's oxygen levels higher and help you stay attentive.

I followed this advice on my drive this morning. Since the whether outside was cold, I turned off the AC completely and let the fresh air in by setting the circulation to "Fresh air" mode.

Believe me, it makes huge difference. Was extremely fresh and attentive through out the entire drive.

Also I was able to see a immediate change in the DTE figure. The rate of change in DTE was less than the rate of change in the ODO. The DTE figures dropped by 1 unit for every 2 KM driven.

Will continue to experiment the other tips suggested in this thread and update the results.

[JEHU]

I've always preferred doing my long rides / drives after midnight. During my weekend rides every fortnight between Bangalore-Trichy, I used to start after 1:30am in my UNICORN. The cold winds would always keep me awake. An iPOD full of rock music would keep me going solo through the dark. Occasionally when it rains I would find shelter at a petrol bunk or some roadside tea shop until morning arrives. Tea / Coffee breaks were only prompting my body to ask for prolonged breaks. The 340+ KMs were usually covered in about 5Hrs 30 mins time.
My long drives on my car were less risky as I NEVER ONCE DROVE THE CAR WHILE FEELING SLEEPY-knowing that I would put the lives of the 3 or 4 other passengers lives at risk, I would pull the car to a nearby police check post or a toll plaza or a dhabha for a tleast a half an hour nap. This has always worked wonders for me.

I've found that these factors cause your eyes to become weary during night drives
1. Dazzling lights from oncoming vehicles or the reflections of headlight from the vehicles coming behind
2.Working late at office all the time having your eyes to the monitor and then starting your drive
3.with a rolled down window, one gets to sleep quickly
4.Driving at a steady pace for a longer period leaves less room for the eyes to move about and the eye starts to lack moisture and then it grows tired ( I guess so)

Alternatives to Red Bull / Performance drinks to keep sleepiness at bay
1. Take a short nap in some safe place
2. Chewing a mint flavored gum would help
3. Rock or some high speed music keeps you alert and fatigue free (atleast in my case)
4. Sipping tea or coffee helps at times
5. This worked for almost all my friends- Drinking a lot of water while feeling sleepy instantly revives one and then the urge to cover some more kilometres before parking for a pee session helps keep grogginess at bay
6. Turning the rear view mirror away from reflecting the headlight onto your face helps (Day night setting in recent cars help in this)
7. Trying to keep pace with a speeding car also wakes up the competitive self in you and I've always kept sleepiness away through this mode of driving (within advisable safe limits though)

[kingofmyworld]

Aaah! An interesting topic to talk about. Well, This was one thing that I did some immense study on. Back in november 2011 I was hell bent on doing a safer yet grueling Iron butt ride (1660 kms under 24 hours and 2570 kms under 36 hours at a stretch on a bike). This challenge needed immense mental stability. Most of the mental stability part was for keeping yourself awake and concentrate on the riding part. I did stay awake for 50 long hours.

Things that worked wonders for me :

1. Snicker bars.
2. Water.
3. Centershock gums.
4. Facewash at regular intervals.
5. Coffee.
6. Apples.
when your body gets used to the above solutions, they dont work anymore.
Redbull comes for the rescue here! It really works. Though it's not suggested medically to have too much of redbull, it does work. One can of redbull kept me and my friend awake for 1-1.5 hours.

When everything fails,

A quick power-nap does the trick. After the 40th hour during my ride, nothing was working for me and my friend, we took a 20 min power nap and that turned out to be a life saver for us. We were feeling fresh, active and energetic. We were awake and alert for the next 10 hours.

Some small but effective tips -

1. Do not drive at a constant speed.
2. Keep your windows rolled up.
3. Keep yourself busy. ( vary your speed and keep changing lanes at regular intervals )
4. Pick a decent driver on the road and make him your target, over take him, keep your lead for some kms, let him over take, tail him for some kms. Keep him in your sight. And do this in a friendly manner . All this is to keep yourself involved and busy. An idle brain will bring in more sleep.

4th point is something I follow a lot when I have to go on rides soon after a last night shift. The early hours of the day are most tiresome hours.

[Grace]

I have used Redbull and IMHO, it gives a quickfix solution. It does give immediate results but has its pitfalls in the long run, Just like steroids. However as Samurai has suggested, simple and old fashion solutions still work at no cost. However if you must have something down your throat, chew on the apple. Glucon D and those stuff which promise fast action is full of artificial sugar not good for the body. For many decades Glucon D has been THE thing for sugar intake but who draws the redline on where to stop? Good question.

Andy

[Modifiedsachin]

Does washing face with SODA helps??

I have seen many bus drivers and truck drivers doing this.

[RajaTaurus]

Best way is to avoid fatigue instead of trying to 'overcome' it.
I have done super long drives (term courtesy-ROC) I have done few times Chennai - Tenkasi (650 kms). Have a good night's sleep, take light breakfast and a fresh cup of tea. Start fresh and brisk at 8 am. One break at around 11 am. Pull over, get out of the car, stretch full, have an apple juice - 10 minutes. Drive again.1:00 pm. Stop, have lunch, 30 minutes break.
Drive again for 4 hours. Tea-break - 10 minutes. Then drive another 2 hours. Reach destination - Fresh as a flower.
Don'ts; No night driving and No coffee during drive. Coffee is diuretic and accelerates dehydration of your body. Plain water or mind juices are the best during drives. During breaks, try to stretch - stand, bend backwards, shake up thighs a bit and the likes.

[RajaTaurus]

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

4. Pick a decent driver on the road and make him your target, over take him, keep your lead for some kms, let him over take, tail him for some kms. Keep him in your sight. And do this in a friendly manner . All this is to keep yourself involved and busy. An idle brain will bring in more sleep.

4th point is something I follow a lot when I have to go on rides soon after a last night shift. The early hours of the day are most tiresome hours.

+1 to this point buddy. I have made this as a habit for long. It works perfect. The keyword is "Friendly manner". Sometimes, it started become "Unfriendly manner" (term courtesy Facebook), I lose the car and fall back enough to pick some other "Friendly" car.

[ramanak]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Hey guys!

Just wanna know if Red Bull really helps in reducing your driving fatigue.

Can Red Bull help me get over this fatigue? If so can it be consumed on a regular basis? What could be the possible side effects in the long run? Can I store a crate of bull in my car and sip it whenever I want?

I drive extensively in the Nights when I do inter city trips (Usually Start at 1-1.30 AM during these drives).I do the following to keep me fresh:

1) Early Dinner previous evening and Sleep for 5-6 Hours before starting the trip.
2) Nice Hot Shower before the Journey.
3) Hot Cup of coffee and Light Breakfast before the trip
4) I use Refresh Tears eye drops to keep out dryness in my eyes.This is very important since Tired eyes is one of the prime reasons you tend to doze off
5)I keep good stock of tea in Flask in the car and some packed easily digestible food (Like Idlis/Sandwiches) Since you will not find any good hotels open during those Wee hours.
6) I also found Lemon drinks like Minute maid and Nimbooz instantly freshens you up during Night drives
7) I also keep 2 bottles of Frozen water for face wash which I do every hour or two. This I do only during very Long (10 Plus hour) drives.
8) Most important, I dont fight my body.When I get the first sign of tiredness, I take a power nap at the next safe place I find.
9)I drive with Light AC or down the windows which also helps me keep fresh.

Drive safe.

Cheers