We got any drivers here? How do you keep from falling asleep?

[stello1001]

Hello all,

Being that the hide consists of members in just about any type of profession, I figured I'd ask.

For those who drive long distances, do you have any tips?

I have a 13ish hour drive tomorrow and my biggest concern is falling asleep lol.


**ETA**
Also, if anyone knows of any good places to see or things to do around Fort Scott or Pittsburg Kansas, tell me about it.

 

[Slash0311]

I work and drive a lot of nights. Caffeine (coffee and energy drinks) help me. Not so much sugar. Apple juice works too. Frequent stops, walking around a little helps.

Big thing is don't push it. If you feel yourself getting sleepy, do something then. Don't wait.

 

[smoooth1]

Methamphetamine

 

[roostercogburn98]

Agreed with slash. I drive 17 hours one way to visit my folks once or twice a year. If you start feeling tired, take a break then, don’t wait. I cheat now and make my kids drive some of it.

 

[TicTacTex]

Ice water does just as good as caffeine for me.

Good tunes, and sing along to every lyric. Lol
Read road signs as well, every single one of them.
Gotta keep your mind occupied.

 

[Bender]

Audiobooks

And meth

 

[7WSMShooter]

Copious amounts of caffeine and cocaine.

 

[stello1001]

I agree with all the meth posts lmfao...
(I'm kidding)


Thing is, I'm driving for a new job to kansas and I will have my drug screening done there, so the meth is out of question.

The playing good tunes and jamming to them method has not worked for me in the past.

But keep them coming, I like the idea of iced water, etc.

 

[lead ƒarmer]

I like to take a bag of sunflower seeds and a big cup to spit the shells in. Gives me a task to focus on when there is nothing else to do, plus you can "eat" them for hours without really filling up or eating a ton of junk

 

[91Eunozs]

Ice water does just as good as caffeine for me.

Good tunes, and sing along to every lyric. Lol
Read road signs as well, every single one of them.
Gotta keep your mind occupied.

Read them out loud. Seriously

 

[JbBooks]

Start to get tired, start pulling nose hairs.

 

[kriller134]

Bumps of Cocaine is a solid choice and if you get too high drink some whiskey to take the edge off.

 

[dustingaunder]

Amphetamine. Get it from your buddies that have poorly behaved kids.

 

[7WSMShooter]

Caffeine without all the sugar so you don’t crash after you come off the sugar.
breaks, fresh air, and playing the music loud.

 

[TACC]

I like to take a bag of sunflower seeds and a big cup to spit the shells in. Gives me a task to focus on when there is nothing else to do, plus you can "eat" them for hours without really filling up or eating a ton of junk

Get the unsalted ones or your blood pressure will go through the roof

 

[candyx]

Put a piece of ginger in your ass .

 

[Bender]

Drive a 145mph. The adrenaline will be amazing.

and the cops won’t let you sleep either

 

[roostercogburn98]

Put a piece of ginger in your ass .

I’m guessing you can substitute ginger for anything and get the desired effect

 

[salks]

If you get sleepy pull over. Drink something caffeinated. Take like a 20- 30 min. nap. Caffeine kicks in Bam ready to go.

 

[Salad_shooter]

Spicy snacks help me when I'm in for a haul. Paqui makes these chips called haunted ghost pepper. Can't be tired if your mouth is on fire.

Or you could go with @candyx suggestion and put a piece of ginger in your ass.

 

[rhsc]

Some truly solid advice being offered here!

Seriously, bring a thermos full of coffee, black or very lightly sweetened. Sip as needed. If your eyelids start getting really heavy, just pull over somewhere that looks reasonably safe and take a 30 minute nap. You'll be fine.

Stay hydrated too, so bring a couple of bottles of drinking water. Pee stops are an opportunity to stretch the legs and re-invigorate yourself.

 

[6.5SH]

Some sage advice on how to make good time in song form:

 

[BiggBeans]

I need advice too. Few years ago i fell asleep on the highway went off into the ditch and came to a stop when i hit a tree. Walked out of it with only burn marks across my waist and chest from the seat belt. Was sore as hell for a whole week after though.

 

[norcalAF]

I’m guessing you can substitute ginger for anything and get the desired effect

Pretty sure he meant a redhead

 

[Salad_shooter]

I’m guessing you can substitute ginger for anything and get the desired effect

I beg to differ, sir. Goggle "figging" and report back

 

[Gregor.Samsa]

I totaled a car when I was 18 driving back from vegas early in the mornings when I fell asleep on the highway. Rolled the car 3 times. Honestly, someone was watching out for me and my buddy as we were just bruised up. I’ve been pretty Sensitive to this ever since. I like to be a little bit cold, cold water, windows down a bit etc. caffeine is good but too much and you’ll crash (nonlinear intended). Listen to your body and stop when you start feeling drowsy or nodding off. Good luck.

 

[Scott037]

Needing to pee not really pee just i have to need to pee. If i stop i and relieve my self i drink a good amount of water to replenish the tank. I love caffeine

 

[shoobe01]

I used to at least monthly drive rather too far (9-13 hours depending on things) and the return at least was at night so I could get home and sleep in my own bed.

Late in the trip it would get tiring and it is night so that is more dangerous in many ways. Try to schedule so your latest hours are with daylight, or through cities. Cities have streetlights, other ambient light.

Things I did:

• Radio. Not music, but talking. XM was worth the upgrade but before that I'd scan AM bands for the farm report or two guys arguing about the local high school football or whatever. DNGAF as long as words, because they engage the brain; you have to process the words. As you get tireder, pay more attention to the content.
• Liquids. Do not avoid to keep from taking pee breaks. Liquids keep all running but especially keep your eyes working; really, really easy for everything to get notably darker from being even a little dehydrated.
• Breaks. You will need these for the liquids unless you have a better bladder but getting out and stretching helps. Yes, it'll slow down the average speed but if worried about that, be strategic. Map out where rest stops are; you can get in and out of those real fast vs a quickie mart. Else, roadsides. Exit ramps in the middle of nowhere are... in the middle of nowhere. In the dark. No one will see you.
• Fats and salts. Cheese, nuts, etc. Not a nutritionist, no idea why. Just of the possible things, better than chips or popcorn or meats or whatever. I'll snack more than have meals.
• Caffeine. Last resort. Does not last forever, and it's not the same as being more naturally alert, so I always drink something like that then go with snacks and a water or juice to back it. With that I can get close to an hour no matter how bad it is.
• Sunglasses. If you do get to daylight when tired, the glare can be hard to fight off making you squint and blink dangerously long periods of time.

You are not me. Eg. for many decades I reacted to caffeine minimally so didn't use that. These are all just ideas.

 

[rjacobs]

If I drive long distances alone I smoke cigarettes... works better for me than caffeine. My wife wont let me smoke when she is in the car so...

I drove 14 hours from Gatlinburg to Dallas last fall. Luckily was in the corvette. Had the cruise set on 100 for like 2 hours at one point. When you have the cruise set that fast you cant fall asleep, at least I couldnt. But slowing down to 75 or 80 I started to get the head nods.

Ive learned about 10-12 hours in the car is my limit. I drove, literally, non stop from Dallas to St. Louis once in a VW TDI that would go 700 miles on a tank and the trip was 650 miles door to door. I dont remember driving through Oklahoma...

 

[Bigfatcock]

Would it be better to shove meth up your ass?

 

[Jscb1b]

Radio up, hammer down.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Would it be better to shove meth up your ass?

Maybe have a redhead shove meth up your ass? Turning into a party real fast on that trip

 

[Expert684]

MUSIC!! Loud!!! Ice chest, drinks, ice cold water on a hand towel, wipe your face and neck. The cold will shock you into waking up.

 

[kc7pwx]

If you have a digital dash try switching from MPH to KPH.
As long as you are not used to KPH it may help to keep your mind active calculating the difference.

 

[candyx]

Pull in a truck stop and kiss a lot lizard,the canker sore will keep you up for a week.

 

[akmike47]

Nap when you need it and I start acting a fool yelling songs and general stupidity. Don't focus on one spot keep your eyes moving, get out and move around. Hell I've slapped the shit out of myself. Whatever it takes.

I'm not proud to say in my working out of town days I've woken up a couple miles down the road not realizing I dozed off.

Luckily it was arrow straight, empty, and I didn't drift.

Once I exited the freeway and didn't remember doing it at all, may have dozed off a second.

 

[kenny1773]

When you start to get sleepy
Jab your left nut with a thumbtack

 

[UKDslayer]

Was not driving excessive hours, but used to work super long (i.e. 38hr) shifts. My secret was Tylenol Tension Headache (325 mg acetaminophen + 65 mg caffeine, NO aspirin). Never loved coffee and this was the only oral caffeine that didn't upset my stomach or make me nauseated even without food. Caveat being - I never took more than ten in a 24 hour period, wasn't consuming any alcohol during this time. The FDA has since lowered the maximum recommended Tylenol a day to 2400 because of liver toxicity (yes it can cause a fatal OD in high doses)- which technically puts the limit at 7 tabs/24hrs.. Your mileage may vary and this is not medical advice, just what worked for me for a few years.

 

[UKDslayer]

Would it be better to shove meth up your ass?

I never heard of hooping until the George Floyd case...

 

[Bender]

My record is Cheyenne to Chicago and back non stop. 36 hours.

 

[Bigfatcock]

My record is Cheyenne to Chicago and back non stop. 36 hours.

Fuck that.

 

[MediumSpeed]

Ft Lauderdale to Flagstaff in 48 hours but I had a second driver and we were younger...

For 1 day drives, keep to under 15 hours - Audio books, coffee, jerky and potato chips...

 

[Dingodog]

Sunflower seeds work for me. The act of eating them one at a time and cracking them open with my mouth keeps me from falling asleep. Also don’t eat a shit ton of carbs As the sugar spike will make you tired.

 

[TxWelder35]

Audiobooks. Music doesn’t do shit for me. Audiobooks I actually listen to and it keeps my mind engaged. 4 hours of music and I’m getting the head bobs. So far 6 hours has been my longest test with audiobooks and didn’t bob my head once. Doing 12 hours later this month.

 

[Numedal]

Drive a 145mph. The adrenaline will be amazing.

and the cops won’t let you sleep either

Will cut the travel time too.

 

[Alphatreedog]

Smash a finger with a hammer . Not hit but fuckin smash . Once that MF swells up like a fargin Johnsonville Brat you are not going to sleep .
Tear a toenail off . Not as effective a the previous but it'll fit yer attention for a while .

 

[ForgeValley]

If it's cold outside I open all the windows and that usually does it. Or blast the AC as cold as it will go.

 

[HeavyAssault]

Depends on your sleeping habits and sleep cycle. I can go 14 hours straight driving. I did 18 hours once that wasn't fun at the end with all the elephants and flying monkeys.

 

[eflyguy]

Conversation.

I used to catch up on calls with friends and family when I had long drives.

Most recently had a 12-hr drive from MO (to ATL) with my ex., we get along fine and the company/conversation kept me going other than bathroom and gas stops. By myself, 4hrs is a stretch.

I bought my most recent vehicle from IN - 8hrs to drive home thru the night. Calling friends in different time zones around the world made it easier.

 

[pmclaine]

Try a rest area glory hole.....receiving side only, not delivery.

Let us know if it works.