[MatthewDFW]

Plan to take my 1 cross country. I plan to stop for gas.

Please pass along your suggestions in this informal, unscientific poll...

What beverage (i.e., energy drink) or other non-pharmaceutical food item works best for keeping you awake and alert through long, long, long hours at the wheel?

If possible, please also cite an example or two when/where your suggested product worked for you.
Thanks most kindly for your input. I appreciate it.

[EspressoBoy]

MatthewDFW,
drive with a passenger and it's the passenger to talk your ear off. If you are talking you can be zzzzzz.

Other than that, pull over and zzzzz... it's not worth becoming roadkill.

EspressoBoy
PS
Coffee only goes so far, I know.

[EspressoBoy]

I wonder if he made it?

EspressoBoy

[MatthewDFW]

Originally Posted by EspressoBoy

I wonder if he made it?

Not scheduled to go for a while. There will be two test runs (1/2 distance; 1/2 time) done before the coast-to-coast go. Still much planning to be done, but I'm pretty sure I've got the right car for it.

[corpsman]

You're taking risks for no reason. Is it really worth it?
If you answer yes, please don't come here and drive.

[xbook]

Originally Posted by MatthewDFW

Plan to take my 1 cross country. I plan to stop for gas.

Please pass along your suggestions in this informal, unscientific poll...

What beverage (i.e., energy drink) or other non-pharmaceutical food item works best for keeping you awake and alert through long, long, long hours at the wheel?

If possible, please also cite an example or two when/where your suggested product worked for you.
Thanks most kindly for your input. I appreciate it.

You aren't, by chance, trying to get this done in, I dunno, ummm, say, under 32 hour 7 minutes?

[baseballbreath]

is 32 hours and 7 minutes some record?

I have made the 14 hour drive from AL to PA in about 16 hours only stopping for gas and once I did pull over for a 15 min power nap. Also I have driven from PA to NM with a co-driver in 25 hours. That was nuts! By the end we were both dead tired and bitchin at each other. lol I used the Full Throttle unleaded (sugar free), it seemed to work pretty well.

[corpsman]

squeak,
Why are you suggesting people ask their doctors for prescription meds. Yes the military prescribes to individuals on a case by case basis. You make it sound like it'sas simple as taking aspirin.
I believe this is being very reckless. Do you know what provigle's intended use is?

I don't care how far someone has to drive. Once you start to get tired, pull over and sleep. I work fire/EMS back home. I've pulled several bodies out of cars due to drivers falling asleep.

People, please, use common sense.

[Oregon]

^ Some believe squeak is on the stuff himself...

Just added 'sleep' as an optional product. Take care of yourself, others as well, prudence is a good thing...

[corpsman]

OK, now how many of you who voted for something else, would have chosen sleep if it were an earlier option?

[Stratos]

There has been done some serious research on this.
Windows down, music up etc. DOES NOT HELP! (driving fast is actually better (so fast you get your adrenaline pumpin'), but i obviously dont recomend that..)

Coffee, energy drinks etc. will only give you a few %. (varies from person to person)

Only thing that works is sleep! A 15min nap is far more efficient than lots of coffee!

I would go for a few 15-30 mins naps and a few cups of coffee. Some ginseng also works well for me (makes me bit more awake while awake, does not affect sleep or keep you awake longer..)

Remember that sleepiness is individual, but just to a certain point.
The most important is to know yourself (test your limits in safe conditions) so you know your own warning signs!! When you do, take a nap!

[BMW86]

VODKA

[penny]

I once drove from Albuquerque to Hollywood to Dallas on a Prius... stopping only for gas which wasn't too often. Wasn't worth the risk and would never do it again.

Gatorade, power naps, and random slaps to the face.

[Heinzftw]

You might want to look into an energy drink called "Redline." It is a 4oz bottle. 15 minutes till kick in and will kick you in the ass for about 4 straight hours. I often use Redline for epic sessions at the gym.

[former]

Regular ol' Mountain Dew wasn't on the list, but the times I've driven most of the way cross-country, they were always powered by Mountain Dew.

Whenever possible, I suggest pulling over and at least taking an hour nap or something. Especially during the 3 or 4AM hours. Those are rough times to be on the road.

When I was a younger man, I drove by myself, straight through from Chicago to Los Angeles after having worked a 6 hour shift. It wasn't my best moment. By the time I reached the outskirts of LA and starting coming down the mountain pass on I-15 I literally felt like I was falling.

I've since read that driving after you've been up longer than 18 hours is like driving at the legal intoxication limit. Driving after you've been awake for 24 is obviously much worse.

[BMW_x5_Msport]

monster works for me

[Mic]

GF + BJ every 150 miles is the way to go

Have a nice trip !

[ARES45]

agreed ^

Also, during sleepy sessions, roll down your window and take the largest bill out of your wallet and hold it out the window.

I also like to chew sunflower seeds.

You can throw in whatever energy drink/ coffee that works for you too.

[ARES45]

Also, driving fast works for a short period of time, but becomes counterproductive when you get used to the speed. Then when you slow down it you tend to pay even less attention because you feel like you are going soo slow. Plus, this thing will cruise in triple digits without getting your blood pumping and it will kill your mileage.

[pit1]

I've read miles of research on sleep deprivation in transportation. Energy drinks will only give you temporary relief, when it wears off, you'll be worse off then before you took it. The cycle will continue with every dose. That said, if you insist, look for caffeine chewing gum, it was developed for DoD as a non-pharmaceutical solution for soldiers, replacing coffee grounds. It reacts faster than energy drinks or coffee. I bought a pack to try out for long nights in Grad School. I'm a heavy coffee drinker, but this stuff kept me up all night.

But please, be careful, there is no denying the extreme performance decrements of tired drivers. We're talking reaction times, and attention blindness comparable to someone who is severely intoxicated. Pull over and take 20 min cat naps. Not as good as a full night's sleep but better than energy boosters.

[MatthewDFW]

Gents! Not to worry. On re-reading my OP, I realized I failed to provide a critical piece of info: There will be a co-driver and arrangements have been made for driving in shifts. The wording of the OP does indeed make it seem like this is a solo drive, which it is not. The mistake was mine in phrasing, not yours in reading. Doh. My sincere apologies.

Ironically, the 14-gallon fuel capacity of my 1 will impact the frequency of stops (probably 240-mile intervals, although I would've preferred 300) which will, in turn, dictate driver rotation. Which also speaks to the point that fuel range and sustainable fuel-efficient cruise are far more important than raw speed (a cursory review of other cross-country runs speaks to this point more eloquently and convincingly than I could ever do). God knows, I've crunched numbers...

Also - again! - no pharmaceuticals other than Tylenol and Alleve (unless you consider caffeine, guarana and B12 pharmas - and I concede that opinions do vary). There will be no trip at all if the only way to do it is by popping pills. No one - and I mean no one - wants to endanger themselves or other drivers.

The purpose of the original question was to poll for suggestions that would keep the active driver as alert and refreshed as possible for the duration of his/her shift... not to put anybody in an ambulance or CareFlight.

[MatthewDFW]

Originally Posted by xbook

You aren't, by chance, trying to get this done in, I dunno, ummm, say, under 32 hour 7 minutes?

Alex Roy was quoted as saying, yes, he thought someone else would probably come along and break his record and - no - it wouldn't be him.

It won't be me, either.

Different route. Less ambitious timetable. I'll sleep better at night just leaving it at that.

In fact, here's a good disclaimer... Posted speed limits are to be obeyed at all times and at no time will anyone involved knowingly disobey traffic-control or other warning signs.