Sleep driving??

I was watching CNN today and there was a story about some people have a whole other world in their lives that they don't even know about. How you ask? It is because they are asleep while doing it.

The story told of a man who got pulled over for not using a turn signal at 2am in Southern Virginia. The police officer was not getting the man to cooperate and pulled him out of the car. Apparently when the man hit the ground, he woke up and began freaking out (as I would too). The officer got him under control and arrested. The man was actually sleeping while driving. His eyes were open, and his brain must have been functioning, but he has no memory of the event. He remembers being in his bed, and then waking hitting the pavement 6 miles from his house.

I must say, this is impressive. It makes you wonder what you do while you are asleep though, huh? I think I remember everytime I get up, but maybe not.

On a different side of driving though, another article on MSN went "mythbusters" on popular ideas on how to stay awake while driving if tired. The idea to get up and walk around, proved true. If you walk briskly for at least 10 mintues, it helps you stay awake an average of 30 minutes. Opening the window, proved false. Talking to a passenger, also proved false, and found that people could actually fall asleep while in a conversation. Drinking caffeine, proved true, but it took a lot. On average 200-400 milligrams of caffinie to help stay more alert. Finally, turning up the radio proved false as well. The radio failed to energize, and even loud radios made no difference. The best bet, pull over and nap for a bit. Don't kill anyone else!