Are You Too Tired to Drive? The Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Ever rolled down the window, cranked up the music and convinced yourself you were now perfectly qualified to drive another two hours?

Yeah. Your brain may disagree.

Most of us know falling asleep behind the wheel is dangerous. The problem is what happens before that. Fatigue can slow reaction time, affect judgment and make it harder to pay attention, and we aren’t always very good at recognizing how impaired we’ve become.

In 2024, 644 people died in crashes identified as involving drowsy driving. And traffic-safety experts believe the true impact is likely higher because drowsiness can be difficult to identify after a crash.

So maybe the better question isn’t, Am I falling asleep?

It’s Am I alert enough to be driving?

Your Body May Be Warning You

Drowsiness doesn’t always announce itself with your eyes closing at the wheel.

Frequent yawning, difficulty keeping your eyes open, nodding off, missing an exit, drifting from your lane or realizing you can’t remember the last few miles you’ve driven are all warning signs.

If you hit a rumble strip and think, Well, that woke me up, you’ve missed the point.

The rumble strip was telling you something.

Tired Driving Can Look a Lot Like Impaired Driving

There’s a reason sleep experts take drowsy driving so seriously.

Fatigue affects attention, reaction time and decision-making. CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health cites research finding that after 17 consecutive hours awake, impairment can be comparable to a blood alcohol concentration of .05. After 24 hours awake, it can be comparable to .10.

That doesn’t mean tiredness and alcohol affect the body in exactly the same way. But it does illustrate how dramatically prolonged wakefulness can impair performance.

And unlike alcohol impairment, we may be tempted to think we can overcome sleepiness through determination.

We can’t.

But I Have Coffee

Coffee can help temporarily. What it can’t do is replace sleep.

NHTSA warns that even after drinking coffee, a seriously sleep-deprived driver can experience a “microsleep,” a brief episode of sleep lasting only a few seconds. At highway speed, a few seconds is enough time to travel the length of a football field without being fully conscious.

Cold air isn’t a cure either. Neither is loud music.

And slapping yourself in the face mostly gives the person in the next car something interesting to talk about.

If you’re struggling to stay awake, the safest answer is to stop driving.

Watch What’s in the Medicine Cabinet, Too

Sometimes the problem isn’t simply a late night.

Prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause drowsiness, dizziness, slowed movement or difficulty concentrating. Some antihistamines, cold and allergy medicines, sleep medications and other drugs can affect your ability to drive safely.

Here’s the surprising part: the FDA warns that some antihistamines can slow reaction time and interfere with concentration even if you don’t feel drowsy.

Read the label. And if you’re unsure how a medication may affect your driving, ask your doctor or pharmacist before getting behind the wheel.

What Actually Works?

The best defense against drowsy driving isn’t complicated: get enough sleep before you drive.

Adults generally need at least seven hours of sleep regularly, and long trips deserve a good night’s sleep beforehand.

If drowsiness hits while you’re already driving, don’t bargain with yourself about how close you are to home. Pull over somewhere safe.

For a temporary boost, NHTSA recommends one to two cups of coffee followed by a short, roughly 20-minute nap in a safe location. But that’s a short-term strategy, not permission to continue driving indefinitely.

Ultimately, there’s only one real cure for sleepiness.

Sleep.

The Destination Can Wait

We’ve probably all done it.

I’m almost there.

It’s only another 20 miles.

I’ll be fine.

But arriving a little later is a remarkably small price to pay for arriving safely.

So the next time you’re fighting to keep your eyes open, don’t fight harder. Pull over.

The destination will still be there after you’ve rested. Make sure you are, too.