Last Saturday, the LA County Fire Department and the LA County Sheriff’s Department joined forces at Malibu’s Fire Station 70 to raise public awareness about the dangers of driving while drowsy. Helping in that effort were a half-dozen celebrities who appeared in person, including three of the stars of the ’70s hit show “Happy Days”—Anson Williams, Marion Ross and Don Most. In addition, there was Alison Arngrim of “Little House on the Prairie,” Carolyn Hennesy of “True Blood,” Kate Linder of “The Young and the Restless,” and recording artist Roslyn Kind (sister of Barbra Streisand).
Perhaps the biggest reason drowsy driving is unsafe is that it could lead to falling asleep at the wheel, with fatal consequences. But short of actually falling asleep while driving, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) says being sleepy can still lead to impaired reaction times, problems with information processing and short-term memory, decreased performance and vigilance, and even aggressive behaviors on the road.
The National Sleep Foundation reports there are a number of clues at a crash scene that tell investigators the driver fell asleep–drowsy driving accidents tend to involve only one vehicle, where the driver is alone, and the injuries tend to be serious or fatal. In addition, skid marks or evidence of other evasive maneuvers are usually absent from a drowsy driving crash scene.
Drowsy driving is not against the law in California, but it is still considered a serious public safety issue. The latest NSF study said drivers who have slept for two hours or less in the preceding 24 hours should consider themselves too impaired to drive.
Drivers are also probably too tired to drive if they have difficulty focusing, keeping their eyes open or their heads up. Other clues of impairment include yawning, rubbing the eyes, blinking frequently, no memory of driving the past few miles, missing exits or traffic signs, drifting out of the lane, or hitting the rumble strip.
Actress Marion Ross, who played the mother on “Happy Days,” said in an interview that more than 100,000 police-reported crashes a year are the direct result of drowsy driving.
“We’ve all been in that situation of being too tired to drive,” she said. “When I feel that way, I pull off the road into a hotel or motel parking lot and take a nap.”
Sheriff’s Deputy Pfeiffer made the point that it’s extremely important to be alert when driving on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
“It’s a freeway with residences on both sides and parked vehicles; plus you can easily hit a pedestrian or a cyclist if you’re not paying attention,” she said.
Deputy Barragan added that drowsy driving is something the deputies themselves have to be careful about, because they often work 16-hour shifts. She said she needs something like coffee to make the drive home after working one of those long shifts.
At the event, Williams was promoting a new product he invented along with his uncle, Dr. Henry Heimlich of the Heimlich maneuver, called “Alert Drops.” He got the idea after driving home through the desert about 16 years ago and falling asleep at the wheel. His uncle advised him to just bite into a slice of lemon any time he felt tired driving, and he discovered it made him feel instantly awake and alert. The new product is a small spray bottle that is just sprayed onto the tongue and equivalent to biting into a lemon. It’s fast acting without caffeine or chemicals.
Williams told Fox News he hoped the new product “would save more lives than the Heimlich maneuver” when it was released earlier this year.
