Bus driver falls asleep

[petrarch1603]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I found this video of a bus driver falling asleep while driving down the highway somewhere in Taiwan.

http://www.dnewsvideo.de/panorama/48713/lkw-fahrer-schlaft-wahrend-der-fahrt-ein.html

also I think this news coverage is from the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa4YgkCQUF4

[maoman]

Horrific!

[divea]

Do all these buses have cameras???

In india, especially Delhi, school bus drivers can be very careless. there have been brutal fatalities (including a bus tipping over a bridge into the river) and these days a contact number is given on the back of each bus to contact authorities if the bus driver drives against the rules.

Late night drinking and early morning driving don't mix well.

[ichbinjenny]

omg.

[FransInTaiwan]

Actually, it doesn't always have to be about driving too long, or alcohol or even a bj or a good wank while driving.

I remember a personal incident back in 1980 when I was on my way home with my truck in Germany. My truck had the mandatory and so much hated "tachograaf". A device that registers how fast, how long and who is driving. It even registers if the engine is running or not. So driving a few extra hours with the lid open won't do you any good either. That evening I was in my legal 8th to 9th hour, so officially I was not braking any law. I wasn't speeding either because the fines for doing that, as well as driving 10 minutes too long are hefty and have to be paid cash on the spot.

What gave me a problem on a Tuesday, and so a 2nd working day, was the utter boredom of the landscape, the fact that there was no other traffic at all plus it was already dark. It was not deep into the night but merely around 9.30 pm. I was only 20 y old back than so I should have been fresh enough to drive safe.

Well, I wasn't. I did doze off! Very slowly my truck plus trailer was moving to the right where I reached the white line. In Germany that line is fitted with a special profile that makes a huge singing noise as soon as your tires go over them. Immediately I was wide awake and almost got a heart attack realizing what had just happened. I am sure this all took place in less than 2, maximum 3 seconds. This situation however gave me a stiff warning for the rest of my life.

No matter what the law (or a boss) says, legal or not legal; I will sleep whenever I feel I could use a nap. It doesn't matter if I have just left 1 hour ago from Holland and still have to do 700 km. On the other hand, I also never cared a rats ass if I already had done my legal hours of 9 maximum. If I would feel fresh than I would "carry on". I know this must be a little hard to explain to others, to knowingly drive too many hours, but if you know that the weekend before that trip I had been sleeping a lot, than you can figure that on Monday I was as fresh as ever.

It has happened 3 times that I still felt very fresh after I had loaded my truck in the South of Germany and decided to do one or two extra hours on top. Unfortunately later in the evening almost all parking lots in Germany would be full along the highway. To park your combination of 18 meter or longer somewhere on a country road or in a village is way too dangerous. I would end up driving home non stop. You should know that: to drive 15 minutes too long (or on any day of that same week !) could and did sometimes, get me a fine of 300 German Marks for doing so. To drive that many extra hours would easily be enough to face a fine of 4 numbers in German Deutsch Marks, not Taiwan NT Dollars! That would always get me nervous enough that falling asleep was never an option. Deep in the night you would see a lot of Police on patrol and in those days the highways would still be very quiet at night. I was young and on all occasions I had a weekend of sleep just before that. All fines had to be paid out of my own pocket, I owned the truck and the business. This just shows that one doesn't always have a choice and also that the laws on driving aren't 100% correct. The driver has to be smart enough to listen to his own body. That, plus now and than I have the strange urge to just break the law, any law hehe

TIP: What if you do start to feel sleepy?
Forget all that bullshit about turning on the music out loud with ACDC on. Or: turning down the window on a cold night, thinking that breeze will fresh you up enough. Nor coffee or a 10 minute break or nap will do. Those won't help any longer than 5 minutes. All you have to do is eat something salty. Salty peanuts , or chips was always in my car. Thats also why you see the same in a bar, usually for free even. Those salty things aren't just to make you happy or thirsty, the barkeeper also wants you not sleepy and to stay there longer. The downside is that in your car/truck/motorbike you also keep drinking. Good for the kidneys but man; you got to take a piss every 30 minutes, and where to stop at night if all parkings are full?

Frans,
now older, wiser and still breaking laws lol