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By all rights, I should be dead. The sad part
is I would have injured or killed at least two other people with me.
Here's the story of a fatigued-driving experience I had.
I was working my way through college as a firefighter and
emergency-medical technician (EMT). I had qualified to work as a 911
dispatcher for the fire department and also was moonlighting as an
ambulance driver and EMT attendant. One day during class, I got a message
that the fire department needed a dispatcher to fill in on the graveyard
shift. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. I knew I had ambulance on-call
the next day, but I wasn't worried because I usually would go home and
take a nap after checking out the ambulance.
After a typically boring night of dispatcher duty, I made it to the
ambulance station a little tired but excited about the day ahead.
Everything went OK until about 30 minutes before I was to head home, when
I was offered the opportunity to work the remainder of the 24-hour shift.
Being a broke college student, I accepted.
I told the boss I had been up all night and would need to take a nap.
"Fine, no problem" was the reply. The day wore on into the
afternoon when my partner and I received a call to transfer a patient from
Prescott to Tuscon, Ariz., a six-hour trip each way. Because my partner
couldn't drive (for whatever reason), I had to, while he assisted the
patient in the back of the ambulance.
Fifteen minutes into the drive, my eyelids grew heavy, but I was
prepared for this problem. I opened a Coke and was good to gountil its
effectiveness wore off, which seemed like just minutes later. In no time,
I went through a six-pack.
By this time, we were at I-17, getting ready to turn toward Phoenix. My
eyelids nearly were closed, and I assure you, driving with your eyes
closed isn't easy. How I was able to sleep and drive without wrecking the
ambulance I'll never know. I only remember waking up when we were
halfway through the Phoenix metro area, and I was fine for the rest of the
trip. Later, I talked to my partner, and he told me he was
worried a couple of times when I drifted off the road. If he only
knew I basically had slept about an hour while behind the wheel.
Ever since that experience, I've always made sure I get a good night's
sleep before driving long distances. When I grow tired, I stop and change
drivers or take a break, even if it means sleeping in the parking lot of a
truck stop. Fatigued driving isn't something to mess around with; it will
kill you. It nearly killed me.
For more information about fatigued driving, visit
www.sleepfoundation.org.
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