A recent study at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center has linked the long work hours that many are working today with automobile crashes that are caused by drivers nodding off.

Specifically the study found three factors contributed to an increase in sleep-related car crashes:

•  Working more than one job
•  Getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night
•  Driving late at night.

It's a big price to pay, with perhaps as many as three to four percent of all accidents caused by sleepy drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In the U.S. alone this amounts to 76,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths. Others believe that the numbers actually be much higher, with as many as 15% of all accidents caused by sleepy drivers.

One of the interesting facts that came out of the University of North Carolina study is that  over half of the drivers said that they didn't feel drowsy before they crashed. This mean that we don't have a lot of warning that we are in trouble. 

Considering that our society seems to be moving more and more to a 24/7 work style, both individuals and organizations need to take these statistics into consideration. And the solution doesn't seem to be open a window, or play music. The solution seems to be more sleep, though that is hardly a big surprise.

Ultimately, you can push yourself only so far in an attempt to get more and more done, to meet the increasing demands that our time obsessed culture is placing on us.

As individuals we need to consider that we hardly save any time at all if we die asleep at the wheel at 20, or 30, or even 40 or 50. That's the ultimate price to pay for trying to squeeze more into our days. In addition, it's no fun to drive when we are sleepy. In fact, most people recognize it as one of the worst things to do.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to put a reminder in your car about the real risk of car accidents while driving in a sleepy state. This might help more of us avoid the denial that seems to accompany this condition. Perhaps the life and time you save be your own!
 
 

Janelle Barlow, Ph.D.
President
TMI, USA
 

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers. If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.
 
 

Previous "Time Manager Q & A Corner" pages: 
 

#1	Key Areas and Interruptions
#2	Daily Plans and Home Offices
#3	Result Statements
#4	Reading and Responding to E-Mail
#5	Sending E-Mail
#6	Filing According to Key Areas
#7	Setting up Files for the Whole Office
#8	Controlling Loose Pieces of Paper
#9	The Value of Time
#10	More on Results Statements
#11	Managing Time on the Road
#12	How to Get Time with Someone
#13	The Downside of Goals
#14	Thinking Types and Time
#15	Feeling Types and Time
#16	Intuitive Types and Time
#17	Sensate Types and Time
#18	What's Real about Strategic Planning?
#19	What Does Being Strategic Really Mean?
#20	How Perception of Time Influences Goal Choices
#21	The Four Immutable Laws of Controlling Your Desk
#22	Decision Making and Cultural Groups
#23	Paperless Office: Fact or Fiction?
#24	Exit Planning
#25	Speed: Does It Free Up More Time?
#26	Time in the 21st Century
#27	Open Office Plans
#28	The Costs of E-Mail
#29	How Do Senior Level People Manage Their Time?
#30	Paying the Ultimate Price with Time By Not Getting Enough Sleep

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers by fax or e-mail . If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.

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