Wow, that was a crazy read. I’ve almost fallen asleep at the wheel myself. Or, perhaps more rightly, I actually once fell asleep for about a nanosecond...chin hit my chest, I woke right up, a surge of terror and adrenaline coursed through my veins as I realized what had just happened...that sure kept me awake for the rest of the drive!

A short catnap does wonders. Just this year I've taken brief naps at a rest stop between Providence and Boston on 95, and one on the NH seacoast.

Amusingly, the time I pulled over in New Hampshire, it was about 2 a.m. and I was on my way back to Maine. I think it was somewhere near the exit for Hampton or Seabrook. Anyway, I fell asleep, and when I woke up with a start after about an hour I had no idea where I was. My first thought was that I had fallen asleep at the wheel and driven off the road. It took a few minutes for the fog to lift.

I used to drive long distances overnight with some regularity... a couple of near-miss incidents finally convinced me to sleep when I'm tired. (Unfortunately, a person does not always have that luxury, though.) I've found that when I'm fighting to stay awake at the wheel, if I pull off into a Wal-Mart lot or somesuch and nap for just an hour, that's good enough to keep me alert for several hours afterward.

Jonah, I'm happy you're still with us.

The closest I've come to this was years ago on the way back from Long Island to Utica, I had pushed myself rather far on interstate 90 and finally had to pull into a rest stop in the 5th hour of a 6-hour trip. The problem was, I was so tired that I pulled in, parked, and immediately fell asleep; then, I woke up an hour later in the middle of a panic attack and 100% convinced I had just crashed.

I managed to ask not one but two people in the parking lot if I had hurt anyone - they probably thought I was drunk. I finally was able to remember only after I went and splashed water on my face inside that I had actually done the proper and non-fatal thing before I fell asleep.

Damn, that's a scary story. Glad Jonah escaped unharmed, and continued best wishes for his wife's pregnancy.

I used to have the briefest dashes of sleep when I'd drive the interstate, but almost always during the day, when I wasn't expecting it to happen. In each instance, I awoke immediately. Hasn't happened for a long time, which is a good thing now that I actually drive an hour to get to work.

The big feelings don’t register the way they tell you they will. Your life doesn’t flash before your eyes. You don’t see a white light. You don’t ponder the meaning of existence. You don’t see God, ponder God’s existence or reflect on the nature of miracles.

When I was in the passenger seat of a car that hit a truck head-on, I remember the moments between "Hey, there's a truck there" and me being knocked unconscious (I wasn't wearing a seat belt and put my whole face through the windshield) as full of me marveling at how good a story this was going to be, about how we impossibly avoided the collision with the truck. It never occurred to me that we were actually going to hit it until I woke up covered in blood hanging out of the car over a ravine. A rather dramatic way to rid me of my teenaged assumption of immortality, but it worked.

Lassus: sounds like we had almost identical experiences with falling asleep after pulling over and being convinced we had crashed.

When I was in the passenger seat of a car that hit a truck head-on, I remember the moments between "Hey, there's a truck there" and me being knocked unconscious (I wasn't wearing a seat belt and put my whole face through the windshield) as full of me marveling at how good a story this was going to be, about how we impossibly avoided the collision with the truck. It never occurred to me that we were actually going to hit it until I woke up covered in blood hanging out of the car over a ravine. A rather dramatic way to rid me of my teenaged assumption of immortality, but it worked.

No, you were right the first time. You made it and now you've got that great story.

Scary stuff...

After logging too many miles to count on my fam-biz routes...I discovered that Jolt Cola and Vivarin do indeed mix and make a great breakfast shake.

Sometimes you don't even need a nap. For me, just stopping somewhere for gas, or at a rest stop, and taking a few minutes to clean out my car or do something to get my mind off driving is enough to wake me up.

A couple months ago I was driving back to Chicago from West Lafayette, and I was very sleepy. I pulled off at a rest stop and just found something to occupy my time for a few minutes and got back on the road. The interstate was down to one lane for construction at that point. I literally had no recollection of the five or ten minutes of driving before the rest stop where the road went from two lanes to one.

If you haven't read the link the story is much better (or worse) than you're expecting. Life is fragile.

When I was living in the Midwest, I once visited friends in LA. I caught a 6 AM flight back after staying up all night - it was about 2 hours from their house to the airport, so as it was I would have had to get up around 2 AM anyway and I figured that no sleep was no worse than 1-2 hours' worth.

I flew back home and felt good enough that I didn't bother napping, figuring I'd just sleep early. But around 10 PM, just as I was getting into bed, I got a call from a classmate - she had been driving home from Colorado when her car broke down. Would I come pick her up? It was about 90 minutes to where she was, and straight interstate all the way. Even though I was exhausted I agreed to do it.

I got about 30 minutes into the trip when I felt myself start falling asleep. I did everything you're supposed to do - pull over and get something to eat/drink, open the windows, turn up the radio - but it didn't help. I dozed off at one point, and woke up only because the car had steered itself all the way from the left lane to the right shoulder, and the bumping jarred me out of sleep. Scariest thing I've ever been through, and I'm extremely lucky and very thankful that it didn't end up worse. The car easily could have pulled in the other direction, taking me over a flat median and into oncoming traffic.

I have no idea how long I was asleep behind the wheel.

Just wanted to say the same thing I said to commenters on the blog and elsewhere: Thanks gang. Appreciate the support and kind wishes.

Get wife and twins home safe and sound, and savor every day -- those are my goals. Everything else is gravy.

Jonah, I'm extremely glad to hear that you are OK! That the worst that has apparently happened is being shaken up and being a car short until the insurance company gives you your check is definitely a blessing.

My grandfather totaled his car in 1989 with my 6-year-old sister in the car when he nodded off and drove into a tree. Luckily, nobody was hurt there, either, as he was driving his Chevy Celebrity Rectangle of Solid Steel.

(1) I'm very glad that the story ends as it does -- but will say no more to entice others to click the link and read for themselves.

(2) I've had trouble with falling asleep at the wheel -- thankfully, the worst that's ever happened is scaring myself as I found the car skidding on the grass between the parkway and the offramp. Obviously, stop, sleep in the car, and all that. BUT if stopping seems like it isn't an option, if you need to drive in an exhausted state, this can be (and possibly has been for me) a lifesaver: peanut M&Ms;. The oft-recommended tricks (window down, radio blasting, etc.) don't work well (at least for me -- I can succumb to drowsiness despite their presence), but the act of chewing something can keep me awake... as long as I'm chewing. Gum is something that one can and does ultimately stop chewing at times (at which point it's easy to fall asleep), but peanut M&Ms;are something that one doesn't (or, at least, that I don't) do anything but chew until swallowing. Sleeping on the side of the road (or in a hotel) is absolutely preferable, but when you find that the monotony of the road is making you drowsy, you and everyone, please consider peanut M&Ms;...

Both my kids were preemies, and I know too well the mix of adrenaline and exhaustion those experiences can provide. Spent two months commuting every day between Hershey and State College, and had a few close calls myself. Glad that all of your family is safe and sound!

Obviously, stop, sleep in the car, and all that. BUT if stopping seems like it isn't an option, if you need to drive in an exhausted state, this can be (and possibly has been for me) a lifesaver: peanut M&Ms;

I almost always keep a bag of sunflower seeds and a cup in the car. The process of cracking, splitting, spitting, and chewing the shell/seed is a pretty helpful tool in staying awake.

Best of luck with the kids, Jonah.

And that drive that Gotowar mentions is notoriously dangerous. The stretch between State College and Potter's Mills is horrible. At least Lewistown Narrows is four lanes now.

I started reading that thinking the "cheating death" thing was a metaphor for the situation with his wife's pregnancy. Wow.

I am glad things are looking good, Jonah, that you left the accident unscathed, and that your upcoming kids are doing well. I'm wishing you the best. It will be great.

I'm lucky that I am someone who pretty much can't fall asleep behind the wheel. I've done some extreme driving feats with never an ill effect. The negative side of this is that I can't sleep on planes either. It's worth it.

I literally had no recollection of the five or ten minutes of driving before the rest stop where the road went from two lanes to one.

This is so incredibly scary for me. This very thing has happened to me on the road, where you simply can't remember what you've been doing, how far you've been going, what was on the radio, for the last 15-20 minutes. The simple act of not being able to access that information is absurdly terrifying. It's sort of liking coming out of a waking dream, and you think "Wait. How did I get here?" I'm on the road, in my lane, but I don't remember how I got here. That's when you know you've got to stop driving and take a break, get some food and get out of the driver's seat.

Also, reading this thread makes me think that the road can be a very dangerous place, whether you're tired or not. Exhausted people operating heavy machinery is never a good idea, for them or for anyone else who happens to be on the road when they are.

This doesn't seem much more responsible than driving drunk.

Driving drunk is something everyone used to be able to do. It was part of being an adult, like balancing your checkbook.

This doesn't seem much more responsible than driving drunk.

I couldn't disagree more. You know what alcohol will do to you in terms of impairment. Tiredness is something that is far less predictable.

Yes, we should all be aware of our state of tiredness, and if you feel yourself starting to fall asleep, you need to get off the road immediately. But driving drunk is a completely different thing.

A lot of the time we don't know how impaired we are until we start driving - whether it's because of tiredness or intoxication. If it becomes clear that we're quite impaired, we should stop driving. I realized this year that I spend a lot of time driving while having to continually roll the window up and down, and rub my eyes with water, to stay awake, and yet I take every precaution possible to not drive after having alcohol even if I feel fine mentally, because my reaction time might be impaired -- and that that's totally irrational.

It seems more forgivable because there's no element of selfish enjoyment like there is with drunk driving - but it's still irresponsible.

Glad you're okay Jonah. I've definitely driven when I feel like I'm going to fall asleep, but I don't think its ever happened for more than 30 seconds-1 min; or at least, I hope. On 280 with all the turns and what not, that's awfully scary.

This is so incredibly scary for me. This very thing has happened to me on the road, where you simply can't remember what you've been doing, how far you've been going, what was on the radio, for the last 15-20 minutes. The simple act of not being able to access that information is absurdly terrifying. It's sort of liking coming out of a waking dream, and you think "Wait. How did I get here?" I'm on the road, in my lane, but I don't remember how I got here. That's when you know you've got to stop driving and take a break, get some food and get out of the driver's seat.

Actually, this doesn't necessarily mean that you were tired. It's common and there's a name for it, but I don't remember what it is. Basically, you're doing something mundane and your brain is not bothering to record the details.

I couldn't disagree more. You know what alcohol will do to you in terms of impairment. Tiredness is something that is far less predictable.

Yes, we should all be aware of our state of tiredness, and if you feel yourself starting to fall asleep, you need to get off the road immediately. But driving drunk is a completely different thing.

I dunno. It seems to me that in both cases (in general), we have a very good idea that our actions are dangerous. It's been pretty well documented that driving tired is very much like driving drunk. As easy as it is to get behind the wheel and say "Hey, I'll stay awake and alert," it's just as easy to say "Hey, I'm not that drunk." It's just that the latter has been drilled into our heads a lot better than the former. (Although I guess I could see some exceptions with tiredness.)

This doesn't seem much more responsible than driving drunk.

Driving drunk is something everyone used to be able to do. It was part of being an adult, like balancing your checkbook.

(I'm very glad Jonah's ok and no one else was hurt)... but I agree with Crispix more than not. As to OB's comment, yeah, once upon a time or three I crawled behind the wheel when I had no business driving a more-than-a-ton-of-solid-mass... and when I recall those times I am so purely glad that I didn't harm or kill some innocent soul.

Driving a car is a far more serious task than most folks credit.

For the record, I was generally worn down by the events of the previous 24 hours. But I wasn't fighting off sleep beforehand. I know what it's like to feel sleepy at the wheel. This wasn't like that. It was sudden.

Having said that, very soon after the crash, I asked the guys who pulled me out if anyone was hurt. I would not have been able to live with myself if someone had.

A lot of the time we don't know how impaired we are until we start driving - whether it's because of tiredness or intoxication.

This is nonsense. You KNOW alcohol will impair you. Sure, there are other factors involved that will have positive and negative effects on the degree of impairment, but in the end there will be impairment. Impairment due to tiredness is far less predictable and fuzzy.

Sure, drivers need to be aware of impairment due to tiredness, and when they experience it, they need to do stop driving. Jonah should have pulled over. But to claim the degree of culpability is the same is nonsense.

I've done some fairly heavy hallucinogins in my days, but the most persistent, unshakeable unrealities I've had were sleep deprivation induced while driving.

I saw bright red London double decker buses and fully loaded car carrying semis that I knew weren't there, but couldn't make go away.

Sleepy driving = intoxicated driving.

Be careful out there.

Oh yeah, happy you're okay Jonah, that's the important thing with a wife and twins.

Wow, Jonah! I'm very thankful that it came out as well as it did. My prayers will certainly be to the health of your family.


____


I am a mild narcoleptic, so I pretty much cannot drive an automatic if I'm the only one in the car. In a way it's good--it forces me to plan to avoid situations that could lead to me falling asleep behind the wheel. But I'm reasonably often late to appointments cause I just pull over and go to sleep. Usually, after 20 minutes or so, I'm ready to try again. So if those in the Chicago area see a manual (not that you could tell those from the outside) little red Corolla pulled over, I probably don't need help, but I'd love to see you :)

The only harrowing experience on the road I had was when a truck tire shell came off on the Kennedy and landed in the center lane. I didn't see it because there were several high riding SUVs in front of me that cleared it. I was not going to be so lucky, and I knew that I shouldn't, but I automatically swerved. At 65, as you all know, that's a poor choice. I completely lost control. Everything went slow and I remember thinking that I should lower my hands so they wouldn't be jammed back into my face. I didn't really think about much else except that I'm ready everyday for this possibility, and it would be horribly ironic if I died on the North Side in a car crash. The car did a 180 back into oncoming traffic. I skidded across several lanes and hit the sidewall. Everything had gone right--the car missed all on-coming cars, the skid took the speed, and the car impacted so tenderly, that the airbag hadn't even deployed. I sat there for a minute, and was hopping out to inspect the car, when I was almost flattened by another car on the same trajectory that also missed all oncoming traffic and came to rest just beyond (in front) of mine.

A maintenance vehicle pulled up behind me and told me that unlike normal accident situations, I should we should leave the area immediately because there might be more cars skidding out. I couldn't believe it, but the car started from its stall fine, and I went the wrong way onto the express lanes, canceled my appointment and drove straight home. In the morning, I dropped the car off, and everything went as normal.

Not as interesting or as well written as Keri, but I do appreciate everyone sharing there stories. I like these threads where we build commonality instead of just bickering about stuff.

Glad you're OK, Jonah, in whatever level of "OK" you are at this point.

I've been in three driver-falling-asleep situations as a passenger. One was in college - a late drive from Worcester to Gloucester - and the (sober) driver was starting to have trouble staying in his lane; I spent the final ten minutes of the ride looking straight at him and asking him direct questions about his family, his childhood, his favorite place to eat when he was 15, whatever I could to force him to keep his brain active. The other two were in the middle of Maine - yes, the middle - and resulted in accidents not unlike Jonah's: car off the road, completely totalled, one accident in the trees, the other a rollover... and, both times, everyone survived. The worst one for me resulted in a cut on my hip (from the seatbelt) and a bump on my head (from releasing the seatbelt). In both cases I was the least injured.

Each of those three events took place before my first time driving while sleepy. Because of that, as soon as I felt tired while driving I knew to pull over ASAP. I got out and stretched, jogged in place (must've looked silly by the side of the road), etc., until I felt like I could make it to the next exit. Made it to the next exit, found a store parking lot, and spent about 20 minutes walking around, etc., until I was ready to drive again.

EDIT: I've never driven drunk, but as a response to OB... Drunkenness is a condition one has before getting in the driver's seat, but fatigue is not. If you're awake and alert, how long can you drive before you're not?

What drives the story home for me is the pregnancy. Having kids dramatically increases the stakes of life. The joys are much higher but you have so much more to lose. Children are a prism into the wonder and despair of the world.

Don't be afraid, you're already dead.

"Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

* TONY ON APES, SPACE & MORE"

Yes. Possibly....

Glad you're okay, buddy. God bless you and Angele, and God bless those babies.

Wow...just wow. I never thought about it before, but for one time in my life, I'm thankful to be hooked on nicotine. I never smoke in the car, so on a long haul I end up getting out of the car every hour and a half or so and walk around having a smoke. A poor reason for keeping up a terrible habit, but maybe it's kept me from a different fate...

I fell asleep at the wheel once when I was 21, while driving through Nebraska in the middle of the night. It was around 3 AM and I had been awake since 8 AM the previous day. Two friends went to sleep in the car while I did about 80 for six hours on gas station cappuccino while listening to jazz. I thought everything was fine, felt okay, then suddenly I was waking up with the car starting to swerve and everybody screaming. Somehow we just spun out in the middle of the road. There was little reason we shouldn't have been a few grease stains on the highway.

After the shock wore off and we determined the car and everyone was fine, I couldn't do anything but weep uncontrollably for the next three hours.

Happy to hear everything is okay with Jonah and his family. Good god.

Reading through the comments in this thread has reminded me just how fortunate I've been on the road. No close calls for me. Then again, I'm in the suburbs outside of Philly, so it's pretty safe on a day-to-day basis. I'm pretty steadfast about not being in a car with a driver who is drunk, high, and/or tired.

IIRC, there's a car (cars?) out that have sensors that detect fatigue-affected driving symptoms. Can't wait until that becomes standard like AC, heating, and the radio.

EDIT: And, of course, I echo the sentiment of everyone in this thread that I'm extremely grateful that Mr. Keri is still with us. I couldn't stand losing two of my favorite writers heading out in the same year (the other being, of course, John Brattain).

"I pulled off at a rest stop and just found something to occupy my time for a few minutes and got back on the road."

But wouldn't that just make you sleepier?
Plus you're $5.95 poorer for a disposable magazine - and that teenage girl cashier's condescending look may be tough to shake for a long time.
:)

More seriously, I'm also one who can't imagine getting drowsy while driving, even in challenging circumstances. I think people experience the event differently. Other things, I couldn't manage when others could handle it easily.

The "drowsy vs drunk" angle is interesting. I don't agree with a hardened comparison for reasons noted, but if this causes anyone reading here to ease up a bit (especially in a less chaotic time than Jonah is in right now), that would be wonderful.

Driving drunk is something everyone used to be able to do. It was part of being an adult, like balancing your checkbook.

This was actually paraphrasing some words of wisdom from the immortal Kevin.

I dozed off once, returning home from an extra-inning night game at Candlestick Park. I'd been up since 6am the previous morning and the person with me was legally blind enough to not be able to drive. I felt fine and suddenly dozed off no more than 30 minutes from my house. Fortunately, I felt the gravel on the road and righted myself by swerving out of the wey of an upcoming overpass.

I was then wide awake enough from the adrenaline rush to not only make it home, but to not be able to fall asleep for hours afterwards. I think I finally collapsed around noon and slept until sunrise.

Jonah, good luck to you and your wife. We all are hoping for good health for the four of you.

Once on a family trip when I was ~18 it was my turn behind the wheel with my father in the passenger seat. I dozed off, drifted off to the side of the road and hit the rumble strips, which woke me with a jolt. My father then told me that he saw me nodding off but let me hit the strips to teach me a lesson. Well, lesson learned.

(There was no one else on the road near us, of course. I assume he would have acted differently if so.)

(The better lesson learned was when my Driver's Ed instructor told me to turn the wrong way up a one-way street. I of course did as I was told. When I saw a car coming from the other direction, I observed that the road didn't seem wide enough for both of us. He took that cue to say that it was because I was going the wrong way. The lesson was to pay attention to street signs.)

Driving drunk is something everyone used to be able to do. It was part of being an adult, like balancing your checkbook.

My parents were bar-owners, and I have a bunch of horror stories about the aftermath of drunk driving.

My wife and I have a simple rule. If we go out, only one of us can drink. The one who drinks doesn't drive, even if it's one glass of wine with a meal. The only time we both will drink at the same time is if we aren't going to be getting behind the wheel of the car until some time the next morning. Yesterday was my birthday, we went out to dinner. I drove to the restaurant and had one drink. She drove home. Simple. To be fair, if either of us consumes more than one alcoholic beverage a month, it's a big month.

And while I've done a few things in my life that have made me do the "what-were-you-thinking" routine afterwards, I've never gotten behind the wheel with any alcohol in my system.

I'm lucky that I am someone who pretty much can't fall asleep behind the wheel. I've done some extreme driving feats with never an ill effect. The negative side of this is that I can't sleep on planes either. It's worth it.

This is me as well now. I literally cannot fall asleep in a moving vehicle, no matter how much I'd like to. When I flew to Japan, it was really rough to not be able to sleep...

Wow ... all of these make my scary driving sleeping story lame. But it is a cautionary tale so here goes. Driving on the Jersey turnpike, probably 3ish in the afternoon. Not rush hour but heavy traffic doing about 55, the kind where the 2-second rule has been cut by about 75%. I dozed off in that! For just a half-second. When I dozed off, my foot pushed the pedal to the floor and the jerk of the acceleration woke me up, in time to keep me from hitting the car in front of me.

To make it scarier, that didn't revive me and I barely made it to the next exit to take a nap. (yes, I should have just pulled over on the shoulder)

So a few things I've learned:

1. Being in a "challenging" driving environment is not guaranteed to keep you awake.

2. That rush of adrenaline after you narrowly avoid an accident will not keep you awake.

3. For me (mostly), and I bet a lot of folks, this is food-related. Avoid high-carb meals on the road (which is damn near impossible!) -- the short-term sugar rush might feel nice but will bite back. Try to take time after eating to let your system work through it or, better yet, just eat a lot of small snacks spaced out throughout the drive so your blood sugar never spikes. That post-meal crash from the sugar high is just as likely to hit you while driving as it does at your desk or on your couch watching TV.

4. I find even a short 15-30 minute catnap is usually enough. You can make that up by speeding. :-)

Now, driving and texting ...

Wow, Jonah, that's crazy. I was seriously scared while reading that. I'm glad that not only are you OK, but so are your wife and (soon-to-be) kids.

My takeaway from this is that there are times that friends and family are going through extremely stressful situations like this, where I wonder, "What can I possibly do to make things better for them?" Well, it turns out that something as small as driving them home (or going home to pack bags for them) is a quite worthwhile favor.

Jonah, I'm happy that you are all right.

(And I'm happy that I first read the intro here, so I knew everything ended well.)


As for drunk driving versus driving tired, drunk driving is always on purpose. You can't say that you didn't know you had alcohol. And in 95% cases (probably even more) you can't say that when you started drinking you didn't know you would drive afterward, or, at least, that there is a good chance that you would have to drive afterward. You can start driving without knowing you are tired.
I have never driven if I had had any alcohol in the previous 24 hours.

A few years ago I was driving to my friend's wedding. I had two other friends with me. We went there some 3 days early, to help setting everything up, so there was no partying before. We started around 11 AM, well rested, and it was close to 3-hour drive. Freeway was mostly empty - summer weekday. That particular freeway has long stretches where it's completely straight and with monotonous fields around it. After some two hours I saw a lorry in front and I moved to left lane to overtake it. Only its horn made me realize that I lost everything after moving left and that on return I cut back right in front of it, almost hitting it. That adrenaline rush was enough to keep me completely alert the rest of the way.
Some time ago I was driving during night (also not alone). Everything was good until the first stop. I went out to refresh myself (toulet, fresh air, a bit of exercise, some water). Short-while after I started driving again, I started feeling drowsy. I had to stop at the next rest to eat a sandwich and wake myself up.
I noticed that getting into warm car when it's cold outside can make me a bit drowsy, even when I'm completely fresh before. Same with getting into air-conditioned car when it's very hot outside. Fortunately, most of my drives last less than 15 minutes, which isn't enough for those effects to take hold.

Jonah,
I'm glad that things ended well. Write it off as a lesson learned, but try not to fret too much - Gaelan is right on when he speaks to the addition of kids in ones life and how it changes your responsibilities.

take care.

Glad to get to the happy ending, Jonah, and find everyone intact and in good health. Congratulations on your impending fatherhood.

My father then told me that he saw me nodding off but let me hit the strips to teach me a lesson. Well, lesson learned.

(There was no one else on the road near us, of course. I assume he would have acted differently if so.)

(The better lesson learned was when my Driver's Ed instructor told me to turn the wrong way up a one-way street. I of course did as I was told. When I saw a car coming from the other direction, I observed that the road didn't seem wide enough for both of us. He took that cue to say that it was because I was going the wrong way. The lesson was to pay attention to street signs.)

Wow, you had a lot of people in your life willing to risk horrific bodily harm for the sake of teaching you lessons.

Baseball-related sleepy at the wheel story:

When I was 14, our local ball team had to travel to a town about 2 hours away for the second half of a two-game regional playoff.

We carpooled to the game, with players' parents driving. My friend Mike's dad was among the drivers, which was rare because he worked long shifts in the oil fields and was rarely able to make it to our games, let alone one away from home.

I'm riding with Mike along with two other kids, Mike's father at the wheel. 15 minutes into the trip, he starts head bobbing, but quickly wakes up with a start, swearing to himself. His trick is to keep his burning cigarette placed between his fingers with his skin just off the cherry. That way, if he nods off, he gets burned. He nodded off and on for about 30 miles.

Mike just looked at us sheepishly, embarassed, noting that his dad was tired. The terrified looks on our faces, coupled with our efforts to make constant loud chatter registered with him though. When we stopped for gas, Mike took the wheel for the rest of the trip. Thank God he had a learners' license and could drive with his father present.

Not surprisingly, Mike's dad was virtually comatose on the drive home. At least this time, he was in the passenger seat.

Mr. D. never offered to drive again, not that any of us would have agreed to ride with him anyway. I still see him around my home town and I'm amazed that he's still alive.

Driving around and "tuning out" for half an hour or so is called being in a disassociative state - it is somewhat akin to daydreaming or sleepwalking. I had this pretty regularly during my 90 minute drive to college every Sunday after a 3 day working weekend. Once you've had a few, you kind of come to appreciate (in a weird way) being able to drive on autopilot and not have to count the minutes on the clock.

I feel asleep one time driving and ended up doing a 180 and ending up in a ditch (with no injuries to self or car.) After that, any time I even felt the twinge of tiredness, it was a Chinese fire drill for me. You may look ridiculous on the highway, but no more so than flipped upside down with a broken neck 4 feet into a guardrail.

I read the story terrified that his wife was going to be part of the accident.

Glad to hear everything turned out well, Jonah.

As others have noted, this is very well written - I'm a fan of your work, Jonah, and this is maybe the best thing I've seen you do. (Also, and this goes with out saying, I'm glad you're okay.)

It's been years since I've been driving when I shouldn't be (always drowsiness, never substance related), but I once drove in a disassociated state for over an hour. From my perspective, I was in NC one minute, the next I was just south of Petersburg VA. Woke up on the rumble strips - it was absolutely terrifying.

As for impending fatherhood, I'll keep you guys in my thoughts. My wife was in the hospital for over a month in a successful attempt to delay the delivery of our son (who turned one a few days ago ... we made it to nearly 35 weeks and all is well) - I remember how stressful and busy that time was.

(The better lesson learned was when my Driver's Ed instructor told me to turn the wrong way up a one-way street. I of course did as I was told. When I saw a car coming from the other direction, I observed that the road didn't seem wide enough for both of us. He took that cue to say that it was because I was going the wrong way. The lesson was to pay attention to street signs.)

My experience combines the two stories - it was my dad who had me turning up the wrong way on a one-way street while "teaching" me to drive. The lesson in my case though was closer to "Dad's an #######\" than anything more functional.