Sleep and Long Chases

I don't think I have ever hallucinated, but there have been a few long drives where I probably got an accumulated five minutes of sleep on the drive home (while behind the wheel). It is really an incredibly stupid thing to do and I still don't understand why I used to do it so much. I don't drive much any more when I'm nodding off. Now I'm too much of a sucker for sleep so I'll pull over for a nap. If you've never done it before, waking up to the sound of your tires on the trenched pavement (on the shoulder) as you swerve off the road will scare the hell out of you.
 
Oh man, I've totally hallucinated coming home from Kansas. I'll get a few minutes of sleep here and there in the back which keeps me going, but is not real sleep. So when I'm driving I don't feel tired (except dull or groggy perhaps), and I start dreaming while awake.

One time I came up to a construction area and I started to slow down for it. I saw the orange and white barrels, lights and signs, and then I rubbed my eyes and none of it was there. I'd also see overpasses and exit signs that I couldn't tell if they were actually there are not. It was about that time that I determined it was someone else's turn to drive.
 
I'm not even going to say what I did last season on a long chase with no sleep for 30+hrs..

Okay, I'll tell you. My dumb ass pumped about 13 gallons of diesel fuel (back when it was actually cheaper than 87 octane) into the chase vehicle. Man, did I feel like an idiot. That's probably the stupidest thing I've ever done.

Had to have the damn thing towed to a repair shop and have the fuel pumped out. This was on May 5th too by the way. One of the best chase days of the season.

That's one mistake I'll never make again!
 
I won't chase anymore unless I'm well rested. I used to pull marathon chases pre-2004 and hallucinated many times on the road. Driving across I-80 in Iowa in 2001 I thought I saw the guard rail of an underpass laying across the road. Also had the strange hallucination of 2 men running across the road in front of me. I won't do that anymore, if I dont sleep i don't chase.
 
Skip Talbot said:
One time I came up to a construction area and I started to slow down for it. I saw the orange and white barrels, lights and signs, and then I rubbed my eyes and none of it was there. I'd also see overpasses and exit signs that I couldn't tell if they were actually there are not. It was about that time that I determined it was someone else's turn to drive.
Click to expand...

I can't believe you don't remember the time we had a 10 minute debate over the funding for the Chicago public school system only to find out you were sleep-talking. I reached over and turned off the cruise control and we coasted to a stop on I-70. True story.

A Starbucks Double Shot and a bag of BBQ flavor sunflower seeds can keep me going for about 5 hours regardless of the time of night.
 
I have hallucinated before when very sleep deprived. Very scary and dangerous. I now try to get enough sleep and take frequent brakes. I have found that books on tape is a very useful item for long drives. I would say that Jason Persoff saved my life loaning me a copy of the original Frankenstein on CD to listen on a marathon drive back to OKC to catch a flight. I would have fallen asleep otherwise. Still not a subsitute for decent rest.

Bill Hark
 
Anyway, yep...one time I was driving with Gene late at night. The first time I thought a deer was running across the road in front of me, and jerked awake. Minutes later I was driving along coming to an overpass in the distance. I dreamed I was heading right into one of the concrete pilons and yep really jerked awake. That will get your attention. I believe we switched drivers at that time.

Back in college I remember I used to be up all night working on computer programs all the time in San Marcos, but I lived in west Austin. One day driving back down I35 in the bright afternoon there was a big semi-trailer about 1/4 mile away...next thing I knew I was right on his bumper about to run into him... Hmm.....:eek: I like to think I live and learn. Hopefully.

I used to go forever I was so wired during a chase. One time I left Austin at 11pm and drove all night up to Medicine Lodge in KS by 8am, then Brady Nebraska in the afternoon. I continued driving on into the night. I don't think I stopped until about 10 pm or later. That was about 24 hours of pretty much continuous driving. I was solo.
 
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As long as your car pulls slightly to the right, the rumble bars along the shoulder of the interstates (at least I-80) allow you to set the cruise and grab about 15 seconds of shut eye before they awake you, those 15 seconds really add up over 100's of miles of interstate, thanks DOT!!
 
Isn't that what cruise control is supposed to take care of? :)
That's definitely one advantage of chasing as a group, with each taking turns at driving a bit.
 
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