I think it’s true that every driver should take responsibility for their own internal state, and do whatever they can to ensure they don’t drive in an impaired state, whether that’s just getting enough sleep, avoiding alcohol or certain meds, or being prepared to pull off the road and nap.

FWIW - I normally have some kind of insomnia and take long time to fall asleep; but if I'm that tired, I can pull up into gas station or Tim Horton's (it's a Canadian thing:) and have a 30min power nap immediately. It's the only time I CAN have a power nap, but it works wonders.

I fully 100% support the general notion expressed here that if we find outselves in a risky position as a driver, we should do something to mitigate that risk. I don't think "don't drive" is always in every circumstance a achievable recourse though, so a power nap can mitigate risk significantly.

You might just doze off for a second or two and hit a tree or worse, someone... ( best depiction: https://youtu.be/ya3_EwQdJrk?t=30 )

To Ogre_... you cannot self diagnose by saying "I know when I'm feeling tired so I nap." Go To A Doctor NOW.

Do you hypothesize the doctor will be able to cure him?

Mostly just doing something physically tiring and having a full stomach, plus being in a monotonous 1-2 hour drive is a recipe for sleep.

What you are describing still suggests an underlying medical condition or extreme indifference to the safety of others. I was being generous and assuming you were not deliberately being indifferent to the well-being other drivers.

It's not normal to fall asleep driving after only a few hours of strenuous activity followed by food.

You made a bunch of assumptions based on a small comment. I didn't say I have narcolepsy or regularly fall asleep at the wheel.

> What you are describing still suggests an underlying medical condition or extreme indifference to the safety of others.

I find it fascinating that people feel they are capable of coming up with a medical diagnosis for a random person over the internet based on a few vague comments.

You need you driver license for your job, without you will lose everything.

You already know that this is not something the doctor can easily help you with (e.g. caused by overwork or because you already visited the doctor).

Sure it's kinda wrong, but most people would just continue driving, especially in countries with no good social net where permanently losing your job can easily lead to it really messing up your live (no health insurance, losing you home, not being able to care for your kids properly, maybe even starvation).

This is why they provide ID cards that do not grant driving privileges.

And why public transportation exists.

But in many places it doesn't. Or is basically unusable for all kinds of reasons (e.g. you having night shift, being a woman and no security at all in public transport).

Furthermore public transport doesn't fix the problem of losing the job for all people.

There are enough jobs where you normally will never drive but you need a driver license for "emergencies" (whatever that means is job dependent).

Our society puts so many people in impossible binds. This discussion needs a great deal more empathy for them.

Uber didn’t come to the St Louis “surrounding area” for some time, and even when they did, it was hard to find a driver.