Why you dont Drive When Your Tired!!! Warning, Crash Photo's

[big_fletch]

We all love traveling and camping and there is nothing worse after a long weekend away than the drive home. After a big weekend you are always Fatigued, i have done it and driven when extreamly tired.. Unfortunatly My Younger Brother learn't the hard way very recently by closing his eyes for a second (or so he thought) and ended up wrapping his car around a tree at 100km/h. He had the cruise set, on his way home from a mates place and next thing i know im getting a phone call at 7am from my parent's.

Now i know everyone knows this, but i would just like to re-enforce that if you are tired at all, pull over for a stretch or small nap.. Even for a cup of coffee, as i would hate to hear about a member on this forum having an accident from something as easy as this.

Now luckily my brother pretty much walked away from this with no major injury's or broken bones. Just a heap of bruises and a lecture from my Father. Just Pure Luck in this case he wasn't killed, and very lucky he had no passengers

Just a friendly reminder for all to be safe out there on the roads and and i hope to never hear about a forum member, or anyone else having an accident like this. Definetly reminded me to the dangers of driving while tired


The main Purpose of this post is just to remind everyone about fatigue and what it can do, stay safe out there everyone :smiley_thumbs_up:

Fletcha

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc459/big_fletch/IMAG0104.jpg

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc459/big_fletch/IMAG0101.jpg

[Winnie]

Wow glad to hear no serious injuries to your bro, very lucky man.

[Lieney]

big_fletch.
Your bro's one lucky mo-fo mate.
That sort of impact on the driver side and things would have been very different.
I reckin a lotto ticket is in order, unless all his luck went on this accident.
Good luck with his recovery. I guess he'll take a break from now on in.

[Maxhead]

Holy cow thats a big hit mate, glad to hear there no major injuries...very lucky!!

[89gqpatrol4x4]

wow what a reminder! glad he was ok and like you said no passengers

[big_fletch]

Thanks Guys, just shows what a bit of Fatigue can do when you least expect it

[snewin]

Wow, that's amazing that he got out of that one and lucky no passengers. Everyone needs a reminder now & again.

[threedogs]

Great to hear hes ok. to often the story is different, with the warmer months arriving, a few of us have been reminding everyone to be extra carefull' I don't have many left in my le,ft and would hate to lose any of them. think and I really mean that we /i want everyone one this forum to be here next year, Especially keep an eye on the little ones around water, put that whislle around there next know where they at all time, at drink in moderation, you can't save anyone blind. nothing stupid see you all in the nrw year.

[Bloodyaussie]

It's funny how I really struggle to drive at night anymore.

Many trips me and my mates do I lead a lot but on the way back I am so tired I ask if someone else can lead so I can just follow along as I zone out otherwise???

That photo reminded me of my mate living through a crash like that and he was in the passenger seat.. crushed his pelvis and broke many many bones but he lived and danced again!!!

Glad to hear your your brother is ok as this can be a hard one to come to terms with....

[mudski]

Holy crap! I guess it just wasn't his turn to visit the big pearly gates. I have a well, erm, funny (was back then anyhow) story about falling asleep at the wheel but this ain't the place for it.
Good to see that he walked away from it.

[growler2058]

F$&@ clearly didn't draw his number on that occasion (thankfully)ay


Sent via my tapping thumbs

[Sir Roofy]

A lesson learnt the hard way one he wont forget
glad hes ok mate one very lucky boy

[MC97GQ]

Fletch,

Glad he walked away from that, Cruise control can be a good thing to save getting fines, but bloody dangerous as well, because it doesn't do the steering or the braking, Just the GO.

Mark

[the ferret]

A very worthy post Big_fletch, thanks for that, so pleased that your Bro is ok, a lucky, lucky boy indeed.
Cheers, the ferret.

[DX grunt]

Hey Fletcha

If your younger bro is anything like you, he's a top bloke. He made a mistake - a very big mistake - one any of us could have made.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so enough said. Glad he's ok. This will be a good testimony for years and years to come.

Take care out there.

Rossco

[Woof]

Hey Fletch, so glad that your brother escaped with only minor injuries mate, very lucky boy mate.
When I am driving a long or short distance I always stop after 1 hour to stretch my legs, with the silly season nearly upon us it is a wake up call for everyone mate...........thanks for reminding us all

[Oversize]

Hey Fletch, so glad that your brother escaped with only minor injuries mate, very lucky boy mate.
When I am driving a long or short distance I always stop after 1 hour to stretch my legs, with the silly season nearly upon us it is a wake up call for everyone mate...........thanks for reminding us all

Yeh, what The Dogman said!

I too drive long haul and I can't always stop cause I have to maintain pace with my truck driver (am a road pilot) so I found that windows down, music up, keep sipping WATER, and singing to myself (god forbid if anyone heard me) are great ways to stay alert. It's not about staying awake its about staying alert. If you are trying to stay awake you are already fatigued and you shouldn't be behind the wheel.

Glad to hear you still have a brother.

[stevogq]

excellent post fletch everybody sometimes needs a wakeup call to think of the consiquences but thank god you bro walked away, should bump this thread every once in a while to keep the heads up

[scotty83]

Lucky boy. Serves as a good reminder to us all. Thanks for sharing.

Tapped on by ScottyB

[krbrooking]

Good post and well said everyone, like said before cruise can be good but when you are tiered it makes it easier to fall asleep as you are even more relaxed and in most cases without it when you drift off you normally relax your legs and lift your foot off the to pedal and that change in speed normally wakes you up.

So glad you bro is ok.

Kev

[harro959]

Mate thanks for posting, its so easy to think that it wont even happen to you.

[MEGOMONSTER]

I was driving home from Yarrawonga last weekend and thought I was ok to drive at least the first leg. Driving down Yarrawonga Benalla road about 30 mins into the trip home, I woke up with my hand hitting my leg coming off the steering wheel, very very lucky nothing happened and got my mate to drive. Gotta be careful guys, only takes a second for a catastrophe and a life time to pay for it.


Publicly speaking to a private audience.

[The BigFella]

I predict this will be the most important thread in here!
fatigue creeps up on you and the hardest thing is being able to identify it before it gets too much.
I average around 130,000k's a year and still scare myself on the odd occasion, I bless my Patrol's short range being on LPG.
I know I have to stop every 2.5 to 3 hours to refuel.
Yeah I've had some close calls, not by choice mind you but as I said above the bitch creeps up on you!
For me, I get fidgety and start moving my legs around, shifting in the seat! I know when this starts I need to stop!
Sometimes a short brisk walk is all thats needed, or a short power nap!
My kids call these "Poppy Pauses" what ever you call them, they can save your life!

Know your limits and respect them, tomorrow can be a bloody long way away,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[macca]

Thanks for posting this, so glad to read it was not a terrible outcome and your Bro is fine. One hell of a lucky lad.

You have also Kicked my ass, I do push it a bit far sometimes and have had a couple of micro sleeps over the last year.

I know when I need a break but don't pull up cause I'm nearly there. Plain bloody stupid when I see the possible outcome.

I wash my face with water from my drink bottle and I'm good for another 1/2 hour, going to stop now and refresh properly.

Thanks

[The BigFella]

I find using cruise control makes my drive a less effortless.
The times when I have been totally stuffed and pushed on way too far, my speed gained when using the foot throttle, using cruise takes away one area of concentration, lets me focus on driving!

[macca]

Interesting BigFella,
Had a 4B without cruise and was allways looking at the speedo, focus short then long back on the road. Did a regular long trip to Vic and my eyes got so tired and sore.
Fitted a cruise control and what a difference, and didnt look at the speedo and see 140kph!!
The down side is as this post has shown. Also not to use them in the wet.

[MEGOMONSTER]

I also find when following something for a long period gets me tired and shutting my eyes also. Especially if I'm following a truck or caravan.


Publicly speaking to a private audience.

[matfew]

I've had a few close calls as you could say. I quit a job because I was driving from Echuca to Deniliquin every day. Its only about 45mins but is pretty straight. Got to the stage where I couldnt even remember the drive on days. Like I wold just wake up and be there. Scared the crap outta me.

I had a family friend not so lucky. Worst thing to see. He had a car load and his gf got major injuries but others were ok. I think I was about 6 or 7 hours and didnt know what was going on for hours as everyone was just crying.

Also had another similar thing with a good friends bro in the last few months. He was driving back to melb and not 100% sure but looks like he fell asleep. Didnt make it either. No passengers with him.


Is good to hear someone was lucky enough to stay with us. VERY lucky guy.

[Timbo]

Not gonna lie.. I've driven tired many times and on a few occasions, caught myself almost dropping off to sleep. One incident on a drive to QLD in my old VS Statesman, I reckon I dozed for a good 5 seconds. Hard to tell, it's just a guess. But when I opened my eyes and realised I don't remember the last few seconds.. it's a damn eye opener! Pun intended. Did I pull over? No. Silly silly boy. It wasn't through me being physically tired it was more that my brain and eyes just got bored of the long straight road that went on and on. That's the most dangerous bit of driving I reckon.. the long straight roads that don't change much.

Glad your bro walked away from this Fletch.

[Finly Owner]

Lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Tim

[Rustyboner81]

thanks for sharing, think weve all been there at one time or another.

mudski's avatar somehow lightens the mood

[vips_one]

Dude's either extremly lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it... Lucky stars ^^

[frenzy]

Top post mate. Highly relevant info this time of year. Take care everyone.

[connor]

The only periods we need to take relax smashes is usually when I am hauling my caravan. This gives me a generating series of about 2 hours driving and one hour relax, enabling us to reach our site early.

[brisz]

Very lucky boy !