There are some people who can fall asleep in a car and there are some people who just can’t. In a perfect world, a car’s driver would fall into the latter category. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world. And you don’t have to be a narcoleptic to fall asleep at the wheel; you only have to be tired, over-medicated, under the influence, or been driving too long and suffering the effects of white line fever.

Driving while drowsy is morally right up there with other “Driving Under” and “Driving While” prohibitions, and in some states, legislation has been passed that makes it illegal to drive while drowsy. The bottom line is you’re unable to focus on the main task at hand, which is safe driving. Prevention of drowsy driving is one of the reasons why long-haul truckers are only allowed to drive for a specific number of hours. The body needs to rest, and to recharge its batteries. Preventing drowsy driving starts with getting enough sleep before hand, and avoiding driving during hours when you’d normally be asleep. It’s likely you know all of the other “tricks” to staying awake - caffeinated drinks, loud radio, cold rushing air, a nervous passenger with an electrical cattle prod - but there’s an innovative little gadget that helps keep you from nodding off.

It looks like one of those ugly Bluetooth jawbone thingys but it does something better than letting you talk to your analyst. It keeps you from killing yourself in a roll over when you swerve into a ditch. As soon as your head starts tilting forward with ZZZs, you get zapped with 10,000 volts of electricity. Just kidding. What it does is set off an audible sensor that should zap you back into consciousness. And when that happens, pull off the road and take a nap. Like you should have in the first place.