When I was towing a ride to fairs around the midwest I was leaving Fort Smith and nodding, looking for a place to pull off. Then I realized that I was feeling a lot better all of a sudden and looked again for a pull-off but saw the Welcome to Little Rock sign. That is halfway across Arkansas on a road that ha been “under construction” or “maintenance” since it was first built- lots of closed lanes. I have done that several times, once waking up forty miles down the wrong road at 2 AM as I apparently followed the traffic lane as it exited instead of the route which curved left. I had no sense of waking up but a dawning realization that I was not where I should be. There were no signs or markers and as it turns out it was a new road that wasn’t supposed to be open for another week. I u-turned and drove back until I saw he highway I was supposed to be on. There were other incidents. I sure as hell don’t count on things happening that way and recently I tapped a rear bumper at a red light as my foot slipped off the brake. The bang woke me up. Now I carry a bottle of concentrated coffee and when I feel tired or I yawn I take a couple of swallows and it keeps me awake.
I would have thought so a few years back but as I grow older, I find that I can fall asleep in a sitting position in a flash. One moment I am getting out of bed, the next I am sitting there day dreaming about something until I find myself saving a fall to the floor. This has happened several times and so I don’t want to be behind the wheel when I feel the same way.
My best explanation for why we can pass through a lot of highway without leaving the roadway is that we are just so familiar in our cars. I once went a few miles down a straight roadway with stop lights. At every light I stopped for the red light and then imagined that I saw the light flashing so I went back to driving. (Very little traffic). Later I drove that same stretch and found that the lights were operating normally, not set to flash. So now I wonder if I stopped at each one and then ran a red light? I was awake but still in that dream state where I dream I am driving with a lot of flashing red lights?
One thing Triger had was a new vehicle. Maybe unfamiliar?
When I was a multi-state Sales Representative years ago. I had a few instances were I would drive 200 or more miles & remember nothing of the trip. I know I didn’t fall asleep I just didn’t remember. That happens when you drive so much. I would put 50,000 miles a year on a car.
I had trouble at times, even pulling over to nap at rest areas. Open the window & breath deep.