MAJ. TERRY-ANN MILLER-SALTER
U.S. Army Reserve
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
My friend, Ty, and I had just finished an all-night dance session and I was still pumped. We’d been at the club for more than four hours, and I think we danced to almost every song — only taking breaks to use the bathroom or grab a drink. I was glad we made that hour-and-a-half trip from Long Island to Brooklyn, but it was now time to go.
With the car’s radio blaring and us still dancing, we found our way to the highway that would take us home. About 20 minutes into our trip, however, our adrenaline started fading. Ty didn’t fight it; she just leaned her head against the window and went to sleep. That’s when I realized I was actually more tired than I thought. But I had to make it home. There was no way was I pulling over in Brooklyn and becoming one of those statistics you hear about on the news. Despite my drowsiness, I kept on driving, hoping the music would energize me.
The first time I went off the side of the road, the rumble strips jolted me back to reality. Ty was oblivious to what was happening. It was obvious she wasn’t going to be any help. “No matter,” I said, “I’m alert now.” Or so I thought.
By the time we reached some local roads, I was struggling to stay awake. The traffic light we were at seemed to be taking a long time to turn green. In reality, I had probably just missed it when I “blinked” for too long. The next thing I remember was hearing a loud honking. I don’t know when or how long I fell asleep, but we were now on the other side of the road. I guess that got Ty’s attention, too, because she suddenly shot up in her seat.
We were now less than 15 minutes from home, and Ty suggested we stop to get something to drink. I thought it was funny that she now wanted to make demands after I had brought us this far without any help from her. I decided I could probably use a drink, too, so I pulled in to a gas station to buy a hot chocolate. Once back on the road, however, I realized my drink selection had been a bad idea. I usually drank hot chocolate before bedtime, and it was not helping my current situation at all. I was exhausted.
The last few minutes of our trip seemed to last forever. I was so glad it was early Sunday morning and there wasn’t much traffic on the road because I was slowly drifting to the left again. Luckily, we made it home safely.
While I made some good choices that night, like not drinking any alcohol at the club, I also made a very poor one. I now realize that driving while fatigued is just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. On that drive home, my reaction time was slowed, my sense of awareness had decreased and my judgment was impaired. This one bad decision could have cost us — as well as others on the road — our lives. I vowed to never put myself into a similar situation again.