Sleepy Thailand: Video shows just what "lap nai" or "microsleep" looks like

[webfact]

Sleepy Thailand: Video shows just what "lap nai" or "microsleep" looks like

 

Picture: Pattaya Update News

 

Dash cam footage posted on the Pattaya Update News site showed just what happens when a driver nods off behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

 

The condition is called "microsleep" and the term "lap nai" in Thai is increasingly being recognised as a cause of many accidents in Thailand. 

 

The footage filmed on the Chonburi Motorway heading towards Pattaya in Muang district of Chonburi showed a Toyota Fortuner in the far right lane slowly veering off to the left. 

 

The car then drives off the road into the central reservation. In some ways it is lucky that no other vehicles are involved.

 

Picture: Pattaya Update News

 

A witness said they hooted but it was to no avail. 

 

Inside the Fortuner were a 54 year old mother and her 23 year old daughter. Pornthiwa, the driver, suffered severe head injuries.

 

Daughter Nitchapha had to be cut out by rescue services after her leg was trapped.

 

Both were taken to the same Chonburi area hospital.

 

The accident occured at KM marker 73 + 300.

 

Drowsy, stop and rest

 

Signage in Thai warning about falling asleep at the wheel has gone up all over the country in recent years. 

 

It says in big red and black letters that if drivers are feeling drowsy they should stop and rest. 

 

Thaivisa notes that information online suggests that the term "microsleep" can refer to nodding off for a fraction of a second or much longer.

 

Source: Pattaya Update News

 

 

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[Swede65]

A thought... Microsleep... I'll bet my 25 satang more on attention to some kind of hand held device... What ever that might be... ????????????

[canuckamuck]

Driving while tired is not a new thing or a condition. It is just stupid people being negligent.

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Driving while tired is not a new thing or a condition. It is just stupid people being negligent.

I don't agree. I can recall a few years ago driving on an empty M5 in Devon and seeing a solitary vehicle way ahead, there was nobody else on the road and it was the first vehicle I'd seen in perhaps five minutes. The next thing I remember is braking really hard as I bore down on the back of that vehicle, it was as though 30 seconds of my life was simply erased. I mentioned it my GP  later who blamed it on micro-sleep and said it was not uncommon when traffic conditions are very quiet. Scary, thankfully nothing since.

[Matzzon]

14 minutes ago, saengd said:

I don't agree. I can recall a few years ago driving on an empty M5 in Devon and seeing a solitary vehicle way ahead, there was nobody else on the road and it was the first vehicle I'd seen in perhaps five minutes. The next thing I remember is braking really hard as I bore down on the back of that vehicle, it was as though 30 seconds of my life was simply erased. I mentioned it my GP  later who blamed it on micro-sleep and said it was not uncommon when traffic conditions are very quiet. Scary, thankfully nothing since.

It´s all very simple, so you do not have to try and complicate things. If you can not keep 100 % concentration on the road you are to tired to drive and need to take a rest. No more alternative ideas are necessary.

[saengd]

2 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

It´s all very simple, so you do not have to try and complicate things. If you can not keep 100 % concentration on the road you are to tired to drive and need to take a rest. No more alternative ideas are necessary.

Unless you can set out your qualifications for being the definitive medical expert on this subject I'll stick with my GP's explanation, if that's OK with you. I'm sorry if that clashes with what you think the answer should be but hey, stuff happens sometimes!

[Matzzon]

1 minute ago, saengd said:

Unless you can set out your qualifications for being the definitive medical expert on this subject I'll stick with my GP's explanation, if that's OK with you. I'm sorry if that clashes with what you think the answer should be but hey, stuff happens sometimes!

Yeah, keep it up. You were too tired to drive. Just admit it to yourself instead of living in a lie.

[Wiggy]

35 minutes ago, saengd said:

and said it was not uncommon when traffic conditions are very quiet.

So how does it happen in Thailand? Most roads I'm on seem to be mental ????

[DannyCarlton]

33 minutes ago, saengd said:

I don't agree. I can recall a few years ago driving on an empty M5 in Devon and seeing a solitary vehicle way ahead, there was nobody else on the road and it was the first vehicle I'd seen in perhaps five minutes. The next thing I remember is braking really hard as I bore down on the back of that vehicle, it was as though 30 seconds of my life was simply erased. I mentioned it my GP  later who blamed it on micro-sleep and said it was not uncommon when traffic conditions are very quiet. Scary, thankfully nothing since.

Sounds to me like you were beamed up by aliens into their mothership, experimented on for a couple of months then beamed down again. Only 30 seconds of earth time had elapsed.

 

Happens all the time on the M5.

[rvaviator]

Interesting topic me thinks ... if saengd is saying that her doctor was implying that being tired has nothing to do with 'micro sleep' and is just a function of 'driving on a road with no traffic'. Then I find that rather strange ..

 

Is the issue not a matter of ... if I can not keep concentration on the road I should not be on the road ? It can be easy to let the mind wonder off if the road is empty and the driving is monotonous ...  

 

Maybe adding a bit more info regarding the drive .. when up in the morning .. was it a long drive etc ... Give the full picture of the drive might give a  better understanding of the situation ?

[MJKT2014]

43 minutes ago, saengd said:

Scary, thankfully nothing since.

Hopefully you have taken measures to avoid this again and killing someone in future.

[Moonlover]

8 minutes ago, Wiggy said:

41 minutes ago, saengd said:

and said it was not uncommon when traffic conditions are very quiet.

 

8 minutes ago, Wiggy said:

So how does it happen in Thailand? Most roads I'm on seem to be mental ????

It all depends on where you live and where your driving. I don't drive much here anymore, but the journeys I have made have been very boring. Reminiscent of long journeys through central France in fact,

[poohy]

Yes it happens here more other than places,

Saying that i remember that i drove my MG from  Lyon to home  (Dudley) in one go apart from the ferry when i was much younger.

 

Did i remember much of the journey no not really certainly not the Dover to Dudley bit

Luckily it was incident free

[stouricks]

31 minutes ago, saengd said:

I'll stick with my GP's explanation

Or your undertakers explanation. If you fall asleep whatever you are doing, you are TIRED. 

[Matzzon]

13 minutes ago, Wiggy said:

So how does it happen in Thailand? Most roads I'm on seem to be mental ????

It really doesn´t matter. Here it´s probably because it´s too busy and people get dizzy and lose control or that they drive too long time. On poster that you quoted says it was because it was too quiet. Nevermind! All this are just poor excuses for not taking a rest. Everybody just need something to blame too be able to run away from responsibilty and reality. I am sure there are thousands of more excuses, when the reality is they need to stop and take a break.

[Moonlover]

Everyone seem to be latching on this term micro-sleep. But they've got it wrong. A micro-sleep is a short sharp loss of attention which precedes sleep. They only last a second or 2 and you nod back into wakefulness, usually with a bit of a shock.

 

They should never be ignored when driving and the driver should get off the road to rest as quickly as possible.

[stouricks]

34 minutes ago, saengd said:

I'll stick with my GP's explanation

Or your undertakers explanation. If you fall asleep whatever you are doing, you are TIRED. 

[stouricks]

Why would a driver allow his/her dashcam footage to be publicly aired if it was totally their own fault?

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

In some ways it is lucky that no other vehicles are involved.

I was somewhat bemused by this sentence in the article. That's one heck of an understatement!

[DannyCarlton]

4 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

It really doesn´t matter. Here it´s probably because it´s too busy and people get dizzy and lose control or that they drive too long time. On poster that you quoted says it was because it was too quiet. Nevermind! All this are just poor excuses for not taking a rest. Everybody just need something to blame too be able to run away from responsibilty and reality. I am sure there are thousands of more excuses, when the reality is they need to stop and take a break.

Thais had the solution for many years. Yabba. Used to be sold at most gas stations and purchased by truck drivers to keep themselves awake. Banned in the mid '70s and these accidents have been on the rise ever since.

[Rimmer]

A couple of troll posts removed

[Mattd]

15 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Why would a driver allow his/her dashcam footage to be publicly aired if it was totally their own fault?

To allow others to learn from their mistakes perhaps!

[spiekerjozef]

Let's sell anti-microsleep tablets.

I think I just gave somebody an idea....

[BobbyL]

Seems like a 'microsleep' is totally fine and is a perfect excuse here for any form of accident. 

[Matzzon]

46 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Why would a driver allow his/her dashcam footage to be publicly aired if it was totally their own fault?

Do you really think that Thai law, makes them able to hide their footage? I guess police took it and them gave it to media to show as a warning.

[saengd]

1 hour ago, rvaviator said:

Interesting topic me thinks ... if saengd is saying that her doctor was implying that being tired has nothing to do with 'micro sleep' and is just a function of 'driving on a road with no traffic'. Then I find that rather strange ..

 

Is the issue not a matter of ... if I can not keep concentration on the road I should not be on the road ? It can be easy to let the mind wonder off if the road is empty and the driving is monotonous ...  

 

Maybe adding a bit more info regarding the drive .. when up in the morning .. was it a long drive etc ... Give the full picture of the drive might give a  better understanding of the situation ?

I think that sums it up, it's when you settle into monotony and are slightly bored so your mind starts to wander. FWIW the event was around 10:30am after a good nights sleep and maybe only 90/120 minutes on the road.

[saengd]

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

Why would a driver allow his/her dashcam footage to be publicly aired if it was totally their own fault?

Duh...for the same reason that people like me would post what I did earlier, to inform people of the risk and make them aware, gedit now!

[saengd]

1 hour ago, MJKT2014 said:

Hopefully you have taken measures to avoid this again and killing someone in future.

Yes indeed, I was so  by the event I upped and moved to Thailand and now my driver, Somchai, does all my driving for me, I'm sure it's far far safer. 

[Krataiboy]

Cop to driver: "Do you know why I've pulled you over?"

 

Driver: "Because you want 300 baht."

 

Cop: "Wrong. Try again."

 

Driver: "Dunno. Give me a clue."

 

Cop: "OK. Do you normally watch Thailand's Got Talent on your smartphone while driving?"

 

Driver: "Of course. How else do you expect me to stay awake?"

 

 

[legend49]

3 hours ago, Swede65 said:

A thought... Microsleep... I'll bet my 25 satang more on attention to some kind of hand held device... What ever that might be... ????????????

Looked to me as normal Thai driving technique?