How do I drive a long distance without getting dangerously tired?

Fatigue is not the same as being bored and it is not fixed by opening a window or turning the radio up. It is a physiological state that degrades reaction time and judgement in exactly the way alcohol does, and its most dangerous property is that it impairs your ability to notice it. The whole of good practice is arranging the drive so it does not arrive, and stopping properly when it does.

Safety

What you'll need

• A planned route with break points
• Water and food
• A second driver (optional)

Step by step

1. Start the drive rested, not at the end of a long day.A long drive after a full day at work, or straight off an overnight flight, starts from a sleep debt you cannot make up on the road. If the trip allows it, drive on a morning after a normal night.
2. Plan a break at least every two hours, before you set off.Fifteen minutes minimum, out of the car, on your feet. Planned breaks are taken; breaks left to when you feel you need one are taken late, because the judgement that decides is the thing being impaired.
3. Avoid the two danger windows if you possibly can.The small hours, roughly midnight to six, and the early afternoon dip, roughly two to four. Both are when the body most wants to sleep regardless of how much you had the night before.
4. Split the driving properly if there are two of you.Swap at the planned breaks rather than when someone is struggling, and make sure both drivers are on the insurance. A passenger who is asleep is not helping — a passenger who is talking and watching the road is.
5. Eat lightly and drink water.A large meal at a service station makes the next hour considerably worse. Small, frequent, and water rather than fizzy drinks. Mild dehydration reliably worsens concentration.
6. Keep the cabin cool and get fresh air at each stop.A warm cabin is soporific. Cool air helps a little and is nothing like a substitute for stopping, but the ten minutes of fresh air at each break genuinely does something.
7. Recognise the actual warning signs.Yawning repeatedly, heavy eyelids, drifting in the lane, missing a junction, not remembering the last few miles, blinking slowly. Any of these means stop at the next safe place — not at the one after that.
8. Do the caffeine and nap properly if it happens.Pull into a service area or a safe parking place, drink a strong coffee or a caffeinated drink, then sleep for fifteen to twenty minutes. The caffeine takes about that long to work, so you wake as it takes effect. This is the recognised response and it works.
9. Never stop on the hard shoulder to rest.It is one of the most dangerous places on the network and it is not a rest area. Take the next exit or reach a service area.
10. Be willing to stop for the night.The cost of a cheap room is trivial against the alternative. Arriving four hours late is a story; arriving is not guaranteed if you press on badly tired.

Tips

• Podcasts and conversation help with boredom and do very little for fatigue. Do not mistake feeling engaged for being alert.
• Check whether any medication you take causes drowsiness before a long drive. Antihistamines are the usual culprit.
• If you drive for work, know that the fatigue risk is highest on the drive home after a long shift — the leg people take least seriously.

Common mistakes

• Winding the window down and turning the music up — Neither addresses fatigue. They make you feel briefly more alert while your reaction time stays impaired, which is the worst combination.
• Driving through the night to avoid traffic — The small hours are the highest-risk window for fatigue crashes. Empty roads are worth very little if you are asleep on them.
• Pushing on for the last hour — The last hour is when fatigue is worst and when people take the most risk to finish. It is the hour to be most willing to stop.

Questions people ask