Automotive - Safety

12-30-02

It's an eye-opening fact: Sleepiness causes more than 100,000 auto crashes each year. Take a break while driving, for safety's sake.

Drive Revived

(NAPSA)-Auto travel has increased in recent years and more people on the roads, traveling greater distances, means an increased risk of sleep-related crashes. Sleepiness causes more than 100,000 automobile crashes each year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports, resulting in more than 1,500 fatalities and $12.5 billion in economic costs.

Sleepiness impairs reaction time, vigilance and attention, and it slows down your ability to process information, much the same as alcohol. In fact, extreme sleep deprivation has been shown to impair brain function to the same extent as in people with blood alcohol levels of .10, a level above the legal limit in most states.

While many travelers believe that drowsy driving is only a problem in the trucking industry, the fact is that more than 96 percent of sleep-related crashes involve passenger vehicle drivers, while only three percent involve drivers of commercial trucks. To help prevent such accidents, Baymont Inns & Suites invites road-weary travelers to stop in for a quick break at any of their more than 180 properties before continuing on their way. The hotels will provide free coffee and bottled water 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone who stops-regardless of whether they stay the night. The chain also offers a special rate to provide drowsy travelers with a cost-effective and safer alternative to getting back behind the wheel.

It's all part of Drive Revived, Baymont's new public awareness campaign to help all travelers better understand and prevent fall-asleep crashes. Here are some Drive Revived tips to help prevent drowsy driving:

Plan ahead for sufficient, good-quality sleep;
Avoid alcohol, even in small amounts, when already tired;
Drive with another person awake in the vehicle;
Avoid driving between midnight and 6 a.m.;
Take frequent breaks and 15-to 20-minute naps as needed;
Consume caffeine equivalent to two cups of coffee.

For more information about drowsy driving, including risk factors and warning signs, or to locate a Baymont along your travel route, visit www.DriveRevived.com.

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