FALLING ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17922, 16 November 1923, Page 6

FALLING ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.

The danger caused by drunken motorists is not overlooked, but, according to a Harley street physician, writing in a London newspaper, more accidents are probably due to men falling to sleep at the wheel than we are aware of. The quiet rhythm of the engine, the warmth behind the wind-screen, the almost automatic character of the task of driving—these are the soporifics which some brains seem unable to resist. Attention dwindles, the eyes grow dim, and at the pace at which a big touring car is driven a single second of this drowsiness may prove fatal. The experience is felt, as might be supposed, after eating a full meal, and he recommends that the safe thing to do' is to stop the car at once, and get out and walk, or hand the wheel ,over to someone else, or start a desultory conversation. That is sound advice, and to it should be added another alternative, which is to open the windscreen and drive hard for a lew minutes. This is found to produce the necessary reaction. "Harley street" raises another question of interest, which is that a limit should be applied to the distances which the drivers of public service vehicles may travel in a day, and he thinks it should not exceed 100 miles. It all depends. There are places and conditions when it must be exhausting to drive that for day in and day out the jear'round.