h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A676721

Very very dangerous to do, and something that I wouldn't ever recommend to anyone... It's a rather short entry (okay, very short) but I've said all I could think of... Any help?

Shee (Sidhe?)
Well done. When I forst read the title I clicked on the entry out of irritation, wondering why anyone would want to write an entry on such a stupid subject. To my pleasure I found a well written warning against...
Lots of good advice - it definately has a place waiting for it in the guide.

Frogbit.
ps, Why worried about Willem?

His life was screwed up again. I think it's better now, but hey.

I'm Shee--Sidhe is a bit more "bad"... Or at least, not as "nice"... That I can be called "nice", heh.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the compliment.. It's rather short, is the only problem I see, but I don't know how to make it longer.... What else is there to say?

~Shee

I must admit, I'm a little worried about this article, I realise that its intentions are correct, but there are a few little points, noteably paras. 6 - 9

6
Use music to keep your attention. Sing if it won’t bother your companions. Bounce around in your seat. Remember, your aim is to stay awake.

7
Spend money on food and drink. Don’t be afraid to eat an apple, or to drink that cola. Savour what you ingest.

8
Keep your eyes moving. Check your mirrors, even if there is no-one coming. Look out the window. Try to find the moon. Keep your brain awake, but your eyes need to return to the road.

9
Let the temperature drop. The warmer it is, the more comfortable you’ll be--the more likely you’ll fall asleep.

I'm sure that most traffic policemen, whereever they were in the world would tell you that if you had to do any of the previous actions, you should not be driving in the first place. They are all giving you signs that you are too tired to drive safely.

But specifically,
point 7 - Eating and drinking at the wheel is not a good idea - and you can be pulled over by the police for not paying attention to the road if your not careful.

point 8 - Ok, this is very good for keeping someone awake, but the problem is, if you're so busy looking for the moon or trying to stay alert, you are not concentrating on the road itself.

I really think that you should change the article to read - "if you find yourself doing any of the above - you are not in a fit state to drive".

PS - I was lucky, I fell asleep at the wheel once, and the only result was that I ended up with a £2500 repair bill for the car. I could have killed someone so this one is a little close to the mark for me.

I'd just like to add that I like the idea behind this article enormously, I am not trying to put down your work, but I just find myself questioning some of the advice given.


whisky

HHhhmmmm - true, Whisky. I hadn't though of that, but then again I don't drive* and have no intention of doing so - the subtle signs were lost on me.


*Due to short attention span, falling asleep a lot, and an inherent disability to forget what a dangerous and terrifying thing driving is when you really think about it.

ps - now you're doing the entity thing Whisky. Tut tut...

Very true whisky. Just to defend myself (not the entry), I was still quite awake when I did do those things--the prospect rather than the actuality was what scared me. I was in control the entire time. I didn't think about the eating thing because I've seen people eat and drink in cars for years and years; no one's ever shown sleep trouble that way and I don't know anyone whom the police have stopped for eating. The moon... that was a bit of a stretch. I'll go look at the entry and change it around a bit...

Did you have a specific point about #9?--that one is true even in afternoon driving, 2-3 pm..

Thanks
~Shee

I could add No. 11:
Make yourself as busy as possible. For example: if you're overtaking other cars then check all three mirrors twice before, then indicate, check the mirrors again, switch lane, check mirrors, indicate... etc.
Do the whole procedure for every car you overtake.


ceterum censeo: in the Guide with it

Hi there,

Firstly, I don't know if I made myself clear in my first posting, but I think this is an excellent idea for an article. (And it's well written.
I just think that adding a comment that if the driver feels that it is NECESSARY that they do any of these things, (including point nine)then he/she/it should take them as warning signs that he is getting too tired to safely drive and should stop for a break.

Maybe you could point out the difference between being bored whilst driving and being too tired to drive.



The point about eating was just that certain police forces in the UK have been known to stop drivers who are busy eating sandwiches (ie are steering with their knees) or are searching for bottles of coke in their glove boxes whilst doing 85 mph along the motorway. (In the same way that they are cracking down on the use of mobile phones whilst driving).


whisky

Point taken, whisky...


*goes to adjust some more*

Nice entry, Shee!

Although this is a dangerous realm to wander into in the first place, there are people who will want to do it, and they ought to know the safest possible way.

The only thing that I would add, (besides any suggestions already made) is a little meat in #4 (taking a break) stressing the importance of *moving* during this break. The qhysical activity required to get out of a car and jump around, dance in a deserted parking lot at 4am, or otherwise do things that could make innocent bystanders think that you are drunk will keep you more alert/awake.

Also, I know its a short entry, but do you want a header/subheader or something? it looks a little empty with just text.

True...


What would you suggest a header say or separate?--I actually thought about that as well, but just because the entry *is* so short, there really isn't anything much in the way of "sections" to separate out and make easier to read by headers...


Shee

hmmm, not sure. Maybe a "general rules" subheader before the first list and a "percationary measures" subheader before the second list, or some such something.

You're right; I would really need at least two... I really don't see the use, though, when it is that short... Anyone else have an opinion? (No offense to you intended, Strider. )

It's ok. I expected there to be other opinions on this point.

! Sorry, but part of my job is to stop people having to be scraped off the road or cut out of vehicles, with all the attendant distress and pain this involves. A huge proportion (at least a third) of all motorway crashes are as a result of tiredness). The worst ones involve heavy lorries.

The entry makes some very important points, including the need to take a break every 2 hours and sharing the driving. The UK based Transport Research Laboratory has done quite a lot of research into this and has found that drivers take 'microsleeps' which they are not aware of and so are dangerous long before they are aware of needing to sleep. You might want to check this out and include some of their research. Alternately, I would be happy to do this for you.

I would be much happier if the emphasis of the entry were changed. Something like 'Driving long distances - practical tips' or something such. You could include things that people do to keep themselves awake at the end as a warning.

It's an important subject and well worth an entry, providing the structure and emphasis is right.

I've done a bit to change the focus (you're right ZSF...) and I'm looking into the useful and most recent facts from the Transport Research Laboratory... I ran it through Google, and the first results that popped up were from 1997--five years is a little long.


Shee

Summary of CT79.1

Hi Shee!

I found this on the TRL site.

'Driver fatigue update ( 1994-1998 )

TRL Library Services

This issue of Current Topics includes over 80 abstracts of reports, conference papers, books and journal articles which focus on the causes, effects, detection, measurement and prevention of fatigue and sleepiness in drivers. Specific topics include the increased risk of falling asleep when driving at night, for long hours, in monotonous conditions or after drinking alcohol; developments in the testing of various drowsiness detection or warning systems, and the effectiveness of countermeasures such as black coffee, on-board warning devices, rumble strips on the pavement surface, and publicity campaigns. These items have been selected from the material added to the Transport Research Laboratory's Library Database between 1994 and 1998. Much of the relevant English language published literature from the UK, USA, Australia and Europe is included; some of the non-UK literature is included courtesy of the OECD International Road Research Documentation (IRRD) database.'

(Hope I haven't breached copyright here)

There may well be other stuff available. I can ask one of my colleagues on Monday to look at what there is on driver fatigue and especially how much of a problem it is. I can't do it myself as I'm on a three day training course

I think it would be good to start by saying that x% of accidents on motorways have driver fatigue as a contributory factor. There may also be information available from the Police accident reports.

Hi Shee!

Here is the info I promised you. It's taken from government information.

The scale of the problem

Fallling asleep at the wheel is reckoned to account for up to 20 per cent of accidents on especially long journeys on trunk roads and motorways. Typically, these accidents involve running off the road or into the back of another vehicle, and are worsened by the high speed of impact (because the driver has not braked beforehand).

Danger times

Driving between midnight and 6am is particularly risky, as this is when one's 'body clock' is in a daily trough. There is another, smaller trough between about 2pm and 4pm.

Who is at risk?

Men aged 30 years and under are more likely to have a sleep related vehicle accident, and seem to be at a higher risk. Sleep related vehicle accidents are more evident in young male drivers in the early morning and among older male drivers during the mid-afternoon.

The warning signs

Laboratory studies have shown that sleep does not occur spontaneously without warning. Drivers who fall asleep first reach the stage of "fighting off" sleep when they will try and keep themselves awake by, for example, winding down the window for cold air, turning up the radio, stretching at the wheel, etc.

Plan your journey so that you can take a break at least every two hours to avoid reaching this stage.

Objectives

The objective of this campaign is to make drivers aware of the risks of falling asleep at the wheel if they drive for too long or when they are tired and of the resulting consequences.

The fatigue leaflet advises drivers about planning their journeys and on what to do when they start to feel tired at the wheel. Our advice is:

plan to stop for a 15 minute break every 2 hours on a long journey
drink a cup or two of strong coffee followed by a short nap.
The long-term objective is to get drivers to plan their journey.

Is that all quoted, or can I stick it in and credit it to you without any phrase changes?


Thanks for the info!


Shee

I'd particularly concur with the bit about the danger hours around 4am.

Making sure people drink lots of fluid is an extremely good way of making sure you take regular 'comfort' stops, where it's easy to make a natural driver switch.

Driving between 3 people for 24 hours can be OK, but it depends how fresh you are before you start driving.

Having music people agree on makes a huge difference.

The kind of vehicle and the type of road makes a real difference - a quiet, softly-sprung car is much easier to fall asleep in than a noisy van, Land Rover or similar.