dTestimonials
These are true stories of sleep related accidents submitted by students from Stanford University.
Disclaimer: Some of these stories may contain disturbing material that is meant to convey the dangers of drowsiness
Sleeping in a Cornfield
My grandmother tells me stories about her father (my great grandfather). He used to work for the railroad, doing administration and whatnot. Anyhow, she said he used to fall asleep often. One time, he and his sister were driving a car, and next thing they new, they woke up and were in the middle of a corn field. They had both fallen asleep while my great grandfather was sleeping, and fortunately they drove in to the field, and came to a rest there. The story greatly tickles my grandmother.
Tragedy hits small Alaskan Community
About two years ago, I answered the phone in the early morning hours to hear my best friend deliver the bad news. A good friend of ours (actually, of the entire high school population--I live on a small island in Alaska, where everyone knows everyone) had fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed into a tree. He died upon impact. What baffled most people in town was the fact that he had not been drinking, and that the accident had occurred around 9PM (a time of night one would perceive as being 'early' for him). I, however, know that he relied heavily on caffeine to get himself through the day (as he did not sleep well). That, combined with the fact that he lived 12 miles "out North" on our windy highway and had driven those roads all his life, made it easy for him to doze off. I'm even sure of the fact that he had most likely fallen asleep (for brief microsleeps) before, but had never been in an accident. It has taken our small community a long time to get over it, but I see it as a definite venue for education about the importance of sleep.
Too Sleepy to Notice the Police
Here is a story about driving while tired that happened to me this past summer. I was driving down to LA from Palo Alto. I left my house in the morning not feeling too tired. I was in a rush to get down there so I didn’t want to stop. It was probably the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done in my life. I was driving fast, totally tired, and having those short sleep lapses while I was driving. I tried rolling the windows down, listening to music, but I was still really tired. I was going fast. Then a cop car pulled ahead of me and was flashing his lights at me. In a panic I pulled over. The cop asked me if I knew how fast I was going. I did not, I wasn’t paying attention at all. He told me I was going 80mph, and that he’d been following me for 5 minutes! I didn’t even notice that there was a cop behind me because I was so spaced out and tired. He said he’s been behind me and he flashed his lights at me, but I didn’t react, so he ended up pulling in front of me to get my attention. I felt like a huge idiot! I told him how sorry I was and that it was totally my fault and I shouldn’t have been speeding. I know, not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Thank God I made it there safely because I definitely was not being a safe driver.
Tragedy on the New Jersey Turnpike
The most horrifying accident that I have witnessed to this date was because of somebody who had fallen asleep at the wheel. It was on the New Jersey Turnpike and he was driving a huge SUV (ford expedition) loaded with kids. I am pretty sure the driver started to fall asleep while driving and drifted towards the right, towards the divider. The car kept ramming up against the divider and the kids (who were sitting in the back) were being ejected one by one out of the trunk door. The first girl was thrown over the divider and killed, three other kids were tossed over a couple second intervals (forty feet on the road) and were considerably hurt. The driver was not injured, however, his lack of sleep caused the death of one child and the injuries of three others.
Change of Plans
Now, this one is quite embarrassing and should you use it in any way shape or form, please remove my name from it. Ha, ha. I had slept for less than 6 hours (again) four straight days last week. I had a final round interview with a company in San Francisco on Wednesday. Returning home, exhausted, I hung up my suit pants in my closet. I did a bunch of work, played some basketball, and got my things ready to head back to SF for the night, as I had another final round on Thursday. I had left my suit coat, and a dress shirt I had dry-cleaned, in the car. I headed to city and crashed for the night. I woke up the next morning, took a shower, went to put on my suit and realized that in my sleep deprived stupor, I had FORGOTTEN MY SUIT PANTS. I had to cancel my final round visit, and will not be going in again to interview. Fortunately I have two other offers, but that sleep deprived mistake was quite embarrassing, not to mention stupid...
Leaving Reno
This past summer I decided to go to a professional golf tournament with a buddy from work. We woke up at 4 AM. and I drove all the way to Reno. We stayed there and watched the tournament in the blazing sun, exhausting ourselves as we walked thousands and thousands of yards along with the galleries. When it was time to leave, the shuttle took us back to our car (the only one leftin the once full parking lot). It must have been 7 or 8 o’clock at that time. I drove home and we were doing great until 11 or so. That’s when my buddy decided to go to sleep without me, but i soon joined him. I experienced micro sleeps but was awakened by the bumps on the sides of the lanes. I thought I could make it, and there was nobody on the road, so I was safe right. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The next thing I know, my new Mitsubishi Eclipse hit an orange pole, leaving a fat dent in the hood, which is still there to this day. The worst part is that I can’t blame it on anybody except myself. I was lucky though because just after I woke up, there was a concrete divider and a lot of cars who had just hit their brakes. I pulled over, took a nap, and returned home safely.
Too Much Partying, Not Enough Sleep
About a year ago, my cousin, after spending an entire week partying like college kids do, had to drive back to school. He told his father he would be driving back with some friends, as his father was worried that he would be tired....he definitely had no more than an hour of sleep the night before his departure. What my cousin failed to mention was that the students he was driving back with were merely part of a caravan, and he was in the car alone. He was going at least 80 mph and completely flipped his car, totaling it. His eyes were closed as he experienced a microsleep. The girls driving behind him thought he was dead, as they watched the car flip over and over. Fortunately, he came out with just a scratch. His mother died in a car wreck in Spain just a year prior, and now I realize that the confusion she experienced on the foreign streets could have been induced or enhanced by her fatigue and possible jet lag. I know the family, and he, believe she was watching over him that day. I hope this strikes a chord with at least one drowsy driver.
Fatal Ski Trip
Here is the story of two people in my graduating class of high school. They were boyfriend and girlfriend, the star football player and the head cheerleader. He was driving the two up to Mammoth for a skiing weekend. She lowered her chair and fell asleep. Eventually, he started drifting off to sleep, slid on some ice and flipped the car over. Because she had been lying down, the seatbelt did not protect her, and she died, while he was in the hospital for a couple days. He awoke to finding out that he had killed his girlfriend. I hope this story helps you.
A Dangerous Sacrifice
My mother has worked the midnight shift at the VA Hospital for as long as I can remember. As a single mom raising my sister and myself, I believe she felt this shift to be the best for her. Fortunately, she has only had one accident in the 20+ years that she has worked nights, and it was a minor accident. She was driving home one morning, "half asleep" as she says, and the individual in front of her merely stopped in the middle of the road. She said she kind of blanked out for a moment (probably a micro-sleep), and when she woke up, she'd rear-ended the guy. Only the front light of the car had been damaged, and she thinks the guy may have been drunk. Nevertheless, I can remember my mother saying things such as, "I don't really remember driving home, but thank God I made it here safely." Sometimes, I used to go into the garage in the morning to find her asleep in the car - she'd driven home and THEN fell asleep behind the wheel. Many times, my mother would get off work at 8 AM, come home, and then drive my sister or myself to school. In addition to this, she would be at the school/bus stop in the afternoon to pick us up. When I think back, I realize that there was never a question of whether or not she was sleepy - she knew that she was driving while sleepy. Many times, I would get to school and worry about her driving home so sleepy. Nevertheless, she endured, I believe, for the sake of my sister and myself. Now that both my sister and me have grown up and moved out of the house, my mother no longer has to sacrifice sleep for us.
J.H.
I have meant to send you this story about my friend J.H, but for some reason, I did not feel ready to do so. The accident happened during the summer after my junior year. Jennifer was driving to Las Vegas on a separate car with her brother. Her family was driving on a different car. Somehow she lost control and her car went off the road. As she tried to bring it back onto the main road, she overturned the steering wheel and her car slipped onto the other lane and hit a car that was going on the opposite direction. She died instantly and her brother who was sitting on the front seat was severely injured. Nobody on the other car passed away but her brother recovered with a permanent injury on his left leg which caused him a permanent limping problem. At the time, nobody mentioned the possibility that she might have fallen asleep at the wheel. However, reading the text book, I learned that the majority of accidents involving microsleeps are those in which drivers drove off the road. The accident also happened in the afternoon which gave me further reason to believe that it was caused by her lack of sleep. I knew Jennifer well and she was a very safe driver so it was really hard for me to believe that she could have been involved in an automobile accident. It saddens me that a minor thing such as sleep deprivation could cause such a tragedy. Anyway, I visited her grave during winter break and I just remember sitting there and wondering why such a thing could happen to her. She was only sixteen, and her birthday was coming up. Jennifer meant a lot to me and I don’t know that for some reason, I hope she could come back. I just like to share my little story with you and hopefully, some people may hear of it, and talk to their friends or family about things like this, so such accidents will not happen to their loved ones.
Hot Tea
Two Mondays ago, I was exhausted because I had stayed writing a paper the night before. I raced home after class on my bike in order to pick up my car to go to a babysitting job. I had a half an hour before I had to leave so I thought I would make myself a cup of tea. My mother had just bought me an electric tea kettle and I had it plugged into the stove’s outlet because it was the only outlet the short cord could reach. Instead of pushing the tea kettle’s button, I must have pushed the electric burner’s button by habit. I don’t actually remember doing it. Suddenly there was a terrible stink in the kitchen as the plastic tea kettle began to burn and melt into the burner that it was sitting upon. I ended up calling the fire department because the fire was quite high.
Mom to the Rescue
My mother was here for the weekend along with my aunt and 81 year old grandmother who flew in from Austria. The weekend was very busy - I drove us down to Monterey and Carmel and then back up the coast. Yesterday, I went to my morning classes and then decided to spend my last few precious hours with my family before they flew back to Chicago. We were driving to San Francisco at about 2 P.M., and it was quiet in the car. My grandmother is always cold, so the heat was on and the sun was shining. I did not have the music on as I always do, and I was just sitting and thinking about all the things I had to do, and I began to think about how tired I was. The next thing I knew, my mom was screaming and grabbed my hand. When I opened my eyes, I was travelling at 80 miles per hour like everyone else on 101 and was about 6 inches from hitting the concrete median. I could not believe it. I had actually fallen asleep, just for a minute. When Dr. Dement told stories about people falling asleep at the wheel, I always thought it was silly... I just did not think it was possible. And yesterday, it happened to me. Thank God my mom was next to me and paying attention. I knew I was probably too tired to drive, but I wanted so badly to go to the city that I tried it anyway. I promise not to let it happen again. Thanks for the life-lessons, Dr. Dement!