Fatigue — Connecticut Permit Test

Fatigue is physical or mental tiredness, and like alcohol and drugs it impairs your vision and judgment.

It is treated as an impairment rather than an inconvenience, because it does the same things to a driver.

Just like alcohol and drugs, it impairs your vision and judgment.

People with untreated obstructive sleep apnea are 7 times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed, so the driver does not know they are in the highest-risk group.

People with untreated obstructive sleep apnea are 7 times more likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

Working the night shift increases your risk of falling asleep at the wheel by nearly 6 times.

The body clock is set for sleeping at night, and the drive home is when it collects what it is owed.

Working the night shift increases your risk of falling asleep at the wheel by nearly 6 times

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep to maintain proper alertness during the day.

The figure is what the day needs, not what you can get by on. Short of it, the alertness has already gone.

Get adequate sleep—most adults need 7 to 9 hours to maintain proper alertness during the day

On a long trip, schedule breaks about every 100 miles or 2 hours.

Alertness falls off long before you notice. A fixed interval takes the judgment away from a tired driver.

Schedule proper breaks—about every 100 miles or 2 hours during long trips

To fight fatigue on the road, find a safe parking area and take a 15 to 20 minute nap.

A short nap restores enough alertness to finish the drive, and it works where opening a window does not.

Take a nap—find a safe parking area to take a 15 to 20 minute nap.

The equivalent of 2 cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours, but caffeine wears off and should not be relied on to prevent fatigue.

Caffeine buys time. Drivers get into trouble by treating what it buys as though it were sleep.

Consume caffeine – the equivalent of 2 cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours.

Try not to drive late at night between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

That window is when the body is most set on sleeping, whatever the driver intends.

Driving at night – Try not to drive late at night between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

Rumble strips are raised or grooved patterns in the pavement of shoulders or travel lanes, and running over a shoulder strip means pulling off at a safe place at once to check your alertness.

The noise is a warning that you have already left your lane once, which usually means you are about to do it again.

If you run over a shoulder rumble strip, pull off the road at a safe place immediately and check your alertness level.

The best way to prevent fatigue is sleep.

Everything else on the list is a delay. Only sleep repairs what fatigue has taken.

The best way to prevent fatigue is sleep.

What does fatigue do to a driver?

Impairs vision and judgment. It is treated as an impairment rather than an inconvenience, because it does the same things to a driver. Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.27: “Just like alcohol and drugs, it impairs your vision and judgment.”