|
|
|
 
|
|
|
What to think
about before your road trip
|
|
You may want to go home or start vacation right
after finals. But wait! Little sleep, and driving
at night with few breaks can cause a tragedy.
Drowsy driving is just as dangerous as driving
drunk. Like drugs or alcohol, sleepiness slows
reaction time, decreases awareness, impairs
judgment and increases your risk of a crash. Thus,
before your trip, you should:
|
- Get a good night's sleep. The
average person
requires
about
8 hours of sleep a night.
Plan to drive during times of day
when you are normally awake and stay
overnight rather than traveling
straight through.
- Avoid driving during your body's
"down time." Take a mid-afternoon break
and find a place to
sleep
between midnight and 6
AM.
- Get
a
companion for a long trip.
Passengers can talk with you, help look
for early warning signs of fatigue and
provide a change of drivers when
needed. (
If you don't
have a companion, please try to carpool
at Cornell
Marketplace )
- Schedule regular stops,
every
100 miles or 2 hours.
- Avoid
alcohol and medications
that may impair performance.
Alcohol interacts with fatigue;
increasing its effects - just like
drinking on an empty stomach.
- Consult your physicians or a local
sleep
disorders center for
diagnosis and treatment if you suffer
frequent daytime sleepiness, have
difficulty sleeping at night often,
and/or snore loudly every
night.
Source:
National Sleep Foundation
|
|
|
|
Where
do you want to go from Ithaca?
|
|
You're
correct. You don't get plenty of
sleep.
Chances
are good that you really aren't
getting all the sleep you need.
If you said "True," ask yourself:
"Do I wake up rested?" The
average person needs seven or
eight hours of sleep a night. If
you go to bed late and wake up
early to an alarm clock, you
probably are building up a sleep
deficit during the week. If you
spend eight hours in bed but
still feel tired, you may have a
disorder preventing you from
getting enough sleep. Whatever
the cause, avoid driving when you
feel drowsy. Rearrange your
schedule so you get enough sleep
during the week.
Source: AAA
Foundation for Traffic
Safety
|
|
|
Destination
|
Miles
|
Hours
|
Needed
Breaks
|
|
New York City
|
223.7
|
4hrs.35min.
|
2
|
|
Boston
|
347.4
|
6hrs.47min.
|
3
|
|
Chicago
|
680.9
|
13hrs.3min.
|
6
|
|
Washington DC
|
353.5
|
7hrs.3min.
|
3
|
|
Philadelphia
|
230.8
|
4hrs.38min.
|
2
|
|
Baltimore
|
309.8
|
6hrs.2min.
|
3
|
|
Florida
|
1231.0
|
23hrs.45min.
|
One
Night
|
* If you want to
calculate miles and hours for your
destination, try MAPQUEST
|
|
|
|
|
|
