�With more than 30
million Americans expected to hit the roads this Labor Day weekend, there's
much more for drivers to worry about than high gas prices and congested
highways, warns The Vision Council and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
The organizations are joining forces to educate the nation about two
under-recognized driving hazards, poor vision and drowsy driving, that are
just as deadly as poor road weather condition and drunk driving, specially at
night.
According to a recent survey, Shedding Light on Driving in the Dark,
respondents complained of asthenopia (38 per centum), dry or tired eyes (34
per centum), fatigue (25 percent) and an unfitness to focus (18 pct) while
driving at night. In addition, both the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council adduce the human death
rate at nighttime (6:00 P.M. - 6:00 A.M.) to be three multiplication higher than the
day rate.
More than 11 million Americans have undisciplined vision problems, which
lav significantly diminish their ability to ride safely. And, since 85
percent of the information needed for safe driving is visual, regular optic
exams are an authoritative part of driver safety.
"We trust on our eyes every time we step into a gondola, especially our
peripheral visual modality, depth perception and focalization skills," aforesaid Ed Greene,
CEO of the Vision Council. "This link between vision and driving makes it
essential for motorists to read steps to maintain healthy vision, but as
they take other safety precautions on the road."
In addition, the 2008 Sleep in America Poll establish that 64 percent of
drivers world Health Organization work at least 30 hours per week account they own driven a
vehicle spell feeling drowsy in the past year, and more than tierce, 36
per centum, have actually fallen benumbed at the wheel. Sleep-related crashes
are most common in young people, specially men, shift workers, commercial
drivers, and people with untreated sopor disorders. NHTSA conservatively
estimates that century,000 police-reported crashes ar the steer result of
driver tiredness each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000
injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losings each year.
"Most people are cognisant of the dangers of drinking and driving, but are
unaware that driving drowsy bathroom be just as fatal," said Darrel Drobnich,
chief program officer at NSF. "In fact, traffic safety and slumber experts
believe that yawning driving is much more common than even federal
statistics indicate."
Recent research finds that even a single night of quietus deprivation canful
negatively regard a driver's ability to coordinate eye movement with
steering a car. And, like intoxicant, sleepiness affects your vision, slows
reaction time, decreases awareness and increases your risk of crashing.
To improve driver safety during this holiday weekend, the National
Sleep Foundation and The Vision Council offer the following tips for
enhancing vision and preventing drowsy driving:
-- Get regular comprehensive eye exams from an eye doctor. Many serious
and progressive eye diseases do not have noticeable symptoms. An eye dr.
can too ensure that your prescription is stream.
-- Always wear your prescription eyewear and make sure that your
eyeglasses are clean. Cleaning lenses regularly helps to move out dirt and
fingerprints that can interfere with vision, especially at night.
-- Wear anti-reflective (AR) lenses to eliminate lens blaze. AR lenses
act to improve imagination by increasing the amount of light that reaches the
eye and by reducing harmful glare due to reflections off the back surfaces
of lenses.
-- Get adequate sleep. Most adults need seventy-nine hours to maintain proper
alertness during the day. Make sleep a antecedency before getting behind the
wheel.
-- Schedule proper breaks and arrange for a travel companion. Stop or
switch drivers approximately every hundred miles or two hours during foresighted
trips.
-- Watch for the warning signs of fatigue. Impaired reaction time and
legal opinion; decreased performance, vigilance and motivation; trouble
focusing, keeping your eyes open or your head up; revery and peregrine
thoughts; yawning or rubbing your eyes repeatedly; drifting from your lane;
tailgating and absent signs or exits; and feeling restless, irritable or
aggressive. If you observe yourself rolling down the window, turning up the
radio or experiencing one of these signs of fatigue, pull over at safe
topographic point immediately for a short nap or find a place to stay for the night.
For more information about vision and safe drive, or to find an eye
doctor in your area, call in http://www.thevisioncouncil.org. To instruct more about
drowsy drive and Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, held in November, visit
http://www.drowsydriving.org.
About The Vision Council:
Dedicated to enhancing life through better vision, The Vision Council
represents the manufacturers and suppliers of the optical manufacture. We
provide a forum to exponent for better vision and to promote quality vision
care products and services in the global community.
About the National Sleep Foundation:
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent nonprofit
organisation dedicated to improving populace health and safety by achieving
greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. NSF furthers its
military mission through sleep-related education, research and advocacy initiatives.
To learn more than about yawning driving and sleep disorders visit:
hypertext transfer protocol://www.drowsydriving.org or http://www.sleepfoundation.org.
National Sleep Foundation
http://www.sleepfoundation.org
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