Poor nights sleep, AIBU to ask when you’d reconsider driving?

[chessica]

I slept 4 hours from midnight until four, then tossed and turned until 5:30, then disturbed, then managed to get another 45 minutes. Grand total of 4 hour 45 min. If I was at home and didn’t have to work this would be fine! But since I now do, I can’t shake the worry of whether I’m ok to drive. My role involves quite a lot of driving and I need to do a 50 mile round trip today, 25 miles each way. I’ve done the journey before and I am an experienced driver but know you shouldn’t drive if you haven’t slept much

AIBU to ask where your limit would be on driving and sleep? Would you drive anyway if you felt fine or reconsider if you’d been up and down in the night?

Surely 25 miles is only 30-40 minute drive? Plenty of people commute this far for work every day. I'm pretty sure they don't have a day off because they didn't get enough sleep.

That's my usual commute and I'd have to have had zero sleep and a good reason for it to not drive. I can't just call work and say I'm not coming in because I haven't slept. I would neck a strong coffee and then have a red bull before the drive home.

You are just right to question it OP if you think you will be too tired. For me, and for most people, 25 miles each way on 4.5 hours sleep would be absolutely fine.

But if it's not fine for you then you shouldn't do it, tiredness kills just the same as booze.

It’s certainly amusing to read the usual by the Elevenrifers - ‘I used to commute to the moon, that’s nothing!’
‘I didn’t sleep for 4 days then drove to Spain, man up!’

Everyone is different, what is far for the OP might not be for some - but it’s sensible to be concerned with concentration levels before ANY drive.
I see both men and women driving absolutely appallingly every day, I’d wager a lot of it is down to tiredness.

Anyway, must go - I’ve only had 13 minutes of sleep since July and my next client is in Costa Rica 🙄

It would depend how I felt, I find sometimes on that amount of sleep I’m fine, other times not so fine! But it’s not too long a drive. What I do do now (trying to finally be sensible 😂) is never have a drink the night before I have to do something proper ie long drive/hard day at work, as I find the killer now is wine AND a bad night’s sleep! And can never predict when the bad nights will be so…

25 miles isn't far! You wouldn't think twice about driving 25 miles to work after a similar night's sleep.

It would be about 30-45 mins I'd guess, depending on the route and traffic.

I think you're being a bit precious OP, sorry.

Laughing here at the two strands of obligatory competitiveness.

'Seriously? Four hours' sleep is a luxury. I usually only manage half an hour. And I'm a pilot'.

'Twenty five miles each way? That's nothing. I drive 400 miles a day to take my 2 year old triplets to an outstanding nursery.'

I definitely wouldn’t want to do a long journey on a bad nights sleep (which 5 hours would be for me!), but I also wouldn’t consider 25 miles to be a long journey.

Coffee, radio on, you’ll be fine!

When are you driving home? That would be more my concern. Will it be dark? After a long tiring day? Again a caffeine hit before the journey and you’re good to go!

That doesn't sound like a long drive to me? I'm sure you'll be fine. I probably wouldn't drive for 6 hours on that much sleep but 50 miles in a day really isn't a lot.

If I was struggling to keep my eyes open or had a bad headache and couldn't concentrate I'd not drive. But only you know how you feel.

Everyones different, we get used to what we get*
However, unless your driving a HGV for several hours today i see no problem.(looks at watch and had 3 hours 2m - slightly less than normal ).

Your alternative is being unable to do you job and go on sick leave?
Because you didnt get 8 hours?
Have a coffee and give your head a wobble!

If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that people are competitive about how little sleep they get.

OP, if you feel too tired to drive, don't do it, it's very easy to fall asleep at the wheel. Only you know if you are going to be up to it. 4 hours and 45 minutes is not a lot, and I'd certainly struggle on it, but you might find that once you're up/washed/dressed you'll feel more awake and capable.

Usually if ive had a bad night's sleep im fine in the morning but come 4pm I need a nap. Everyone is different

YANBU for asking for advice on the matter

Good point regarding time you'll be heading back and if it will be dark.

Only you know how tired you are but personally 25 miles is nothing for me and I could do the full 50 miles without a stop if I wanted to on very little sleep. Sometimes after a full day at work I drive to Yorkshire from the south coast which is a 230mile trip (one way) and I don't tend to stop just as I feel if I stop for a quick 10/15 minutes it feels like it has added 30/45 mins onto my journey

I don’t ever think it’s how long you sleep, I think it’s if you even have that thought is ‘I don’t know if I’m good to drive this morning’ then if possible at all you should go with your gut

If you are really tired OP don't drive, it's not worth it. I listened to a R4 programme recently, Life changing with Sian Williams in which a woman describes how she fell asleep at the wheel as a youngster, crashed her car and 2 of her friends were killed.

4 hours and 45mins sleep is a luxury!! I barely sleep due to children and drive a lot for work sometimes doing 70miles a day, you just drink your coffee and get on with it. I’m pretty sure the don’t drive when tired rule is for silly amount of driving on no sleep like motorway driving in the middle of the night etc.

Update: I was fine, tired but fine. Thanks to all the more recent posters saying it’s a valid question to ask. There is quite a lot of competitive tiredness on here so those comments calling it out made me laugh 😂
I did have to drive home in the dark and that wasn’t fun but all fine now.

I haven’t slept as much as four hours a night for years, I’d not be able to earn a living or have a normal life if that meant I couldn’t drive.
I think a lot of people with young children/puppies and a lot of menopausal women would be in exactly the same situation too.

I wouldn’t. If I haven’t had enough sleep I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I don’t drive on less than 6.5

The same amount of sleep will affect different people quite differently. Indeed, it will affect the same people differently on different days, or at different times on the same day. You can only tell in a given moment whether you feel well enough to drive or not.

Personally, I would be absolutely fine in the morning. There have been many many times in my life when I've had that amount of sleep or less. But I might be tired at the end of the day.

I’d drive 25 miles yes. That’s half an hour or so to the next town. I also have done this as have a very young child.
250 miles no way.
only you know how you feel.

I’ve had two car accidents (just small bumps where my judgement was not spot on) due to sleep deprivation from two tag teaming monkeys. I now choose to get the train when I have to travel long distances - this is like 2.5 hours minimum. I often do half an hour journeys when super tired as I find that’s ok

Are you joking?! New parents, parents of the sick kids, kids of the sick parents, menopause, bad cold, excitement, ongoing insomnia, life. 4-5 hours is all many people get regularly.

I’m assuming you’re my 18 yr old daughter who I am sure dodged her driving lesson today because she had a late night yesterday (by choice).

Posted too soon. 4 and a bit hours sleep and booze, no, I wouldn’t drive.