Some stories you can't make up. Truck driver Beant Singh Gill speaks more Punjabi than English. Which didn't help the British Columbian when Wisconsin State Police found his semi-trailer flying down the rural road to Sparta.

The back of the truck was opened. What was inside? Large heaps of Monster energy drink. Police chalked up Gill's wild ride into nowhere (he was supposed to be heading for Canada) to sleep deprivation. Many wagged he should have been drinking the energy drink, not hauling it.
Maybe he was.

Driving While Unconscious

Truck driving is hard, and dangerous. When the National Transportation Safety Board looked at nighttime driving in the 70's, they found driving from midnight to six increased accident rates about seven fold, with six times the number of fatalities per accident. In other words, a forty-two time increase in fatal accidents for night driving truckers.
1. Use illegal stimulants. Despite drug testing, some drivers know no other way than using amphetamines and "uppers" to get their job done
2. Text or call on cell phones. When the Secretary of Transportation saw evidence that texting increased truck accidents 23 fold, he banned it. However, when you're out on the road, cell phones get used a lot - though they may only increase accidents four fold
4. Use lots of "normal" stimulants like caffeine. Low dose caffeine can improve performance. High dose caffeine can make you irritable, headachy, and wired while exhausted. It can also whack your sleep.

Legal Stimulants and Sleep


Teenagers, Stimulants and Sleep

There has been an apparent large increase in ER admissions by teenagers addicted to or overdosing on caffeinated drinks. No wonder the National Institutes of Health has deemed caffeine a potentially "poisonous ingredient." Yet there is little idea of how this highly popular use of "normal" stimulants is killing people's ability to rest.
If you care about your teenager's health; grades; appearance; weight; mood, it's a serious matter. Yet it's an equally important issue for shift workers, particularly in transport.
Sometimes you're so sleepy the caffeine doesn't work. And when it doesn't, you may not know. You'll just fall asleep and not have the slightest clue - whether you're sitting at a desk, or driving a semi-trailer filled with energy drinks.
The take home - use caffeine in small doses at the right times of day. You don't want to take one of the most useful drugs on earth and turn it into an addiction.

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