04.23.2012 | Share
Safety Standdown opened my eyes to the risks I didn’t realize I was taking everyday.
A 30 minute drive to and from work should be relatively safe as long as we follow the traffic regulations and pay attention, right? Well, according to Dr. Rosekind’s module on Fatigue, during 2011 Safety Standdown USA, being sleep-deprived impairs driving ability to the level of alcohol intoxication.
An average 8 hours of sleep is needed to function 100% everyday. According to Dr. Rosekind, cutting the needed sleep time by even 2 hours in one night influences attention span, decision making abilities, and general performance similar to the effects of two-to-three 12 ounce beers. And that’s not even mentioning the overall sleep depravation from the consecutive nights of getting less than 8 hours of sleep.
We live in the world of busy schedules and not-enough hours in the day. But sacrificing sleep can put ourselves and those around us in unnecessary risk. Who knows how many car accidents could have been prevented if everyone was rested enough to make better decisions and react faster to unexpected circumstances.
Knowing the risks of not getting enough sleep has inspired me to take personal accountability of my alertness, especially when getting behind the wheel. I owe it to myself and the other drivers on the road to be the safest operator I can be.
Fatigue can no longer be an excuse for poor performance when we have such abundance of resources and tools on learning how to manage it.
Safety Standdown taught me to be a safer driver by applying my knowledge on fatigue everyday. I hope that sharing my experience will make a positive difference in someone else’s life.
Olga Khakova
