• On April 13, 1984, two Burlington Northern Freight trains collided on a single track in Colorado. The five crew members were killed and the damage totaled $3 million. The accident was attributed to sleep deprivation.

• A five-month-old child died of heat exhaustion after the father forgot him in the vehicle and went to sleep.

• When the super tanker Exxon Valdez crashed into a reef in Alaska, 258,000 barrels of oil were spilled, causing an environmental disaster that cost $2 billion to clean up. Sleep deprivation was blamed for the collision.

Most of us lead busy lives and are therefore tempted to try to reduce sleep time in order to fit in activities such as studying, working an extra job or watching television. In fact, many people brag about how little sleep they need. Yet, sleep deprivation can cause accidents, particularly if you operate a motor vehicle or machinery such as farm and industrial equipment.

People falling asleep at the wheels of their cars are responsible for approximately 2% of all driver fatalities. Nearly one in every three Americans reports having fallen asleep at the wheel. The comfort and ease of driving today’s cars – the combination of cruise control, power steering and soft seats, along with the hypnotic effect of highway driving – can lull drivers into a drowsy state. The prime times for "asleep-at-the-wheel" crashes are between midnight and 7 a.m. – when it’s natural to feel sleepy – and between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Once I was called to the scene of a fatality on a straight stretch of highway. The car had driven off the road and rolled several times, killing both occupants. They were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the vehicle. The road was bare and dry and lightly traveled at the time. There were no skid marks. It was assumed the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The call came about 8:00 p.m. on a clear, sunny June evening. I didn’t know it at the time but "in a New York minute" our lives had changed forever because someone had fallen asleep at the wheel.

The caller from the emergency room at the city hospital said my husband had been in an accident but he was okay. In retrospect, "okay" was a pretty generous term for his condition. But, considering that my husband was involved in a head-on highway collision, was removed from the vehicle by the jaws-of-life and airlifted to the hospital, he was lucky to be alive.

A great attitude and an iron will were the main factors in his amazing physical recovery. Prior to the accident he was a young, vibrant man with a promising career ahead of him. Now, because of head injuries sustained in the accident, any kind of career really isn’t an option. I think my husband copes as well as anyone could with the depression, anger, pain and frustration that that are now part of his daily life.

For years, I pictured the driver of the other vehicle as some kind of monster because of the effect his actions had on our lives. But when I met him, I felt sorry for him. He’s just an ordinary person who, through a seemingly small mistake, caused a lifetime of hardship to both his family and ours.

If you’re tired, pull off the road, don’t let this happen to you.

Martin Lesperance is a fire fighter/paramedic, best selling author and humorous speaker. Visit his website for more safety articles and information on his speaking services. www.safete.com or call him at (403) 225-2011.