AAA October 2009 : Page 22 From the President’s Desk - By Mark A. Shaw COMMENTARY Wide Awake and Ready to Roll? Reports in the news these days tell a scary story: The United States is fi lled with busy, productive and very sleep-deprived people. According to the Centers for Disease Control, almost half of all Americans don’t get enough sleep for more than a week every month. Even worse, about 10 percent of people don’t get enough sleep any night. The pressures of today’s society don’t make it easy. BlackBerrys are buzzing on many nightstands. Web- surfi ng and hi-defi nition TV have people staying up late, and long commutes have them getting up early. Economic worries have people counting sheep, too — about a quarter of Americans are losing sleep over fi nancial worries, according to the National Sleep Foundation. All of these statistics add up to a tired society — and lots of drowsy drivers. While it’s hard to fault people for working long hours or cutting back on sleep to get more done, the impact of sleepy, less-than-fully alert drivers is dramatic: Drowsy driving contributes to more than 100,000 crashes and $12.5 billion in losses each year. Drowsy driving is so dangerous that police officers report they often mistake sleep-deprived drivers for drunk drivers. In fact, studies show that drowsiness impairs drivers to a degree equal to having a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent, a level higher than the legal limit for driving while intoxicated in every state. Crashes that involve drowsy drivers also tend to be particularly severe, since sleeping or unaware drivers can rush headlong at full speed into opposing traffic or obstacles like trees, walls and even buildings. These incidents lead to more than 1,500 fatalities each year. You can use several strategies to defeat drowsy driving: • Get more sleep. Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep at night to be fully rested. • If you’re drowsy, pull over to a safe spot and nap. A 20-minute nap can refresh a driver enough to continue safely for a short distance. • Avoid alcohol and medications that make you drowsy. • Don’t rely on caffeine or stimulants. They may give you a brief jolt, but your energy level may also drop fast. • Ask passengers to watch for signs of drowsiness in drivers. People face a lot of competing priorities today, and sleep often loses out to other activities. But your safety and the safety of your passengers and other road users should never take a back seat to anything. 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AAA’sAutomatic Renewal Program helps simplify your life! Enroll once and your credit card will be billed automatically every year so your roadside assistance and member savings never cease. AAA’sAutomatic Renewal Program benefits include: • Coverage Your membership continues each year without interruption. • Convenience Save the hassle of writing checks, getting stamps and mailing. An email notifi cation will alert you on renewal status. • Paperless Help save our environment without renewal reminders. R.K. 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