As a truck driver I usually spend weeks at a time far from my home and on the road. My job is to transport cargo from one particular city to a different one at times in various states. This means that I could be driving for 12 hours or even more every single day.
My strict deadlines mean that there is little time for sleep and I frequently find myself falling asleep at the wheel. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drowsiness and fatigue are the cause of 1.5% of all car accidents annually.
State lawmakers are pushing to require a limit on the maximum amount of hours which a driver can be out on the road but nothing has come of it yet. For the time being various firms offer tools which seek to tackle the issue of sleepy drivers.
One particular unit is called a nap alarm and it is a tiny earplug-like gadget which is put on over the ear. It possesses a motion sensor which is capable of sensing if you are drifting off to sleep.
It performs this by simply keeping track of your head movements and when it detects that your head is moving forward or backwards too much just like when youre nodding off this portable sleep alert will produces a sound a strong alarm to wake you and your passengers up.
I purchased one personally and I wear it each time Im on trips that take several days to finish. Thanks to its ease-of-use my nap alert does not get in my way and I often forget that it is there until it decides to wake me up.
Although this sleep alarm is promoted towards truck drivers it can be utilized by anybody who has to remain awake while on duty like security guards and also machine operators.
With the overall economy at a standstill companies are demanding more and more hours from their workers. Motorists and also drivers falling asleep at the wheel will continue to be a problem however with gadgets like the portable nap alarm organizations can lessen that risk.