Fatigue: A sleeping killer

As we gradually get into the thick of the Ember Months, I am constrained to run this piece on fatigue after listening to a sad story on how a father of three died in a lone crash after choosing to drive even when the signs were glaringly that he was fatigued. This very interesting material […]

As we gradually get into the thick of the Ember Months, I am constrained to run this piece on fatigue after listening to a sad story on how a father of three died in a lone crash after choosing to drive even when the signs were glaringly that he was fatigued. This very interesting material on the fatigue was put together by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Although I have done something similar, I am however, compelled to write this piece again because of the above tragedy and others that either resulted in deaths or multiple injuries.
Although data on road crashes to justify the danger of fatigue in Nigeria is scarce, globally fatigue remains a hidden killer. Many have died in the name of tyre burst, speed, dangerous overtaking when in actual fact the real factor may have been fatigue that was ignored as nothing serious. What really is fatigue? According to the Australian material, a combination or any of the following warning signs means the driver is becoming fatigued: yawning, eyes feeling sore or heavy, vision starting to blur, daydreaming- thinking of everything else but not your driving, not concentrating, becoming impatient, reactions seem slow, speed creeps up and down, making poor gear changes, wandering over the centre line or onto the road edge, feeling stiff or cramped, you start’ seeing things’, you feel hungry or thirsty, you have difficulties keeping your head up or eyes open, you hear a droning or humming in your ears, you don’t notice a vehicle until it overtakes you.
When you notice these signs, please don’t ignore them .Don’t plead the blood either. Don’t even bother binding the ‘innocent devil.’ Hey, not even time to blast in unknown tongues. It is not the devil. Not your in-law. Not your angry landlord. Not even your jealous colleague in the office. Not the road condition or your car either. But you. Yes you. Once fatigue sets in, there is little you can do about it except stop as soon as possible and take a break. Take a break, sooner rather than later. Driver fatigue can be just as deadly as drink-driving or excessive speeding. The problem of fatigue is that it slowly develops and drivers often don’t realise they are too tired to drive safely. Ironically; there is always a warning sign. It could begin with yawning.
Fatigue, according to research is caused by lack of sleep or broken sleep. Alcohol and some medications can also cause sleepiness. Although the need for sleep varies among individuals, sleeping eight hours in a 24-hour period is common. The effect of sleep loss builds up. Regularly losing 1 to 2 hours sleep a night can create a “sleep debt” and lead to chronic sleepiness over time. Just being in bed doesn’t mean a person has had enough sleep. Disrupted sleep has the same effect as lack of sleep. Illness, noise; activity can interrupt and reduce the amount and quality of sleep.
Like every other driving habits or problems, fatigue has its fair share of myths. For those freaky about night trips or night journeys, the notion is that it is safer to make the trip at night in order to avoid day-time traffic build-up. The fact, however is that your body has a normal 24 hour rhythm pattern built into it. If you are driving when you would normally be sleeping you will be fighting yourself to stay awake. The chances of falling asleep at the wheel after your normal bedtime, especially in the early hours of the morning, are very high. There is also the notion that it is a good idea to start the trip after work. Some believe they can cope with driving long or short distances despite the pressure of work, multiple meetings and other official and unofficial engagements which are often heightened during the ember months with increased motorisation. This same mind-set personally affects me whenever I am posted to the field with lots of travelling and the urge to find time for my family. I love my two sons like heaven and would do everything to spend valuable time with them and my lovely wife like every loving father or husband. But do you know the risk involved? Travelling after work is certainly not the ideal and this is a fact. After the mental and physical demands of office work during the day, you will be too tired even though you will not realise it. The safest thing to do is to get a good night’s sleep (about 7-8hours of undisturbed sleep) and start your journey the next morning.
There are those who think that loud music will keep you awake. Agreed that loud music can; however, it will help for a while. It might even distract you from the driving task or even send you to sleep. What about coffee? Gworo? What if combined with cigarettes? Caffeine is only a short-term solution and will have less effect the more often you use it. It might make you feel more alert but it won’t keep you going for long. Sleep remains the long term solution. This reminds me of a personal experience way back at the greatest university – the University of Lagos. Although it had nothing to do with driving, it however taught me a little lesson about cheating nature. While on a post-graduate programme, we went to what was then one of the bukas on campus to fill our stomachs. After a good meal, my friend and classmate nick-named Folly, who is today a senior officer in one of the services, suggested we buy kola-nuts and top it up with his favourite Saint Morris.
We obliged and bought kola-nuts and cigarettes as suggested. We smoked plenty, topping it up with plenty of kola-nut all in the name of dealing a deadly blow to sleep. To my  astonishment, as soon as we got into the post-graduate library, my friend who incidentally took more of the gworo and cigarettes, suddenly pulled off his shirt, dragged a table and was about to do the unexpected- sleep, when I jokingly challenged him and said ‘old boy, how can you try that after all you have consumed.’ Of course, that friendly challenge and stupid joke almost resulted in a fight by two friends whose real problem was sleep. To make peace, my good friend was allowed to sleep all night instead of our planned all night jacking (reading).
The last myth is that plenty of air through the window will keep you awake. Like all the points others discussed above, this might give you a boost and help for a while, as might turning the air-conditioning on. But if you are tired, sleep still remains the solution. Some people assume that fatigue only affects long distance travellers. Any driver can suffer fatigue. Like we stated earlier, broken sleep or too little sleep at night caused by power fluctuations which have become rampant all over the country, too much hanging out or armed robbery attacks which are common in most cities, sleep disorders (such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnoea) continuing pressures of stress, very demanding physical or mental work, caring for children and often the demands of daily living can drain your energies. What about the after effect of all night prayer meetings common among Christians. It is very common to see believers’ faith sleep when all they need do is take a little nap at the prayer venue before driving home.