The Associated Students of Northern Michigan University’s (ASNMU) Dozing Discounts Program has added many new hotels just in time for students driving home for the holidays.

The Dozing Discounts Program, which is a subcommittee of ASNMU and an NMU-based program, contacts hotels to see if they would be interested in giving students a discount.

If students are traveling home and are tired or the weather turns bad, it provides the option of staying at a hotel at a discounted rate, said Mary Raymond, chairwoman for the program.

Driving while tired prevents students from focusing on potential hazards that might occur while driving, said Lenny Shible, NMU health promotion specialist. If students are tired and aren’t focusing, they can’t respond as well to dangerous situations.

“If you need toothpicks to hold your eyes open, then you are too tired to be driving,” Shible said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year, according to Drowsydriving.org.

Researchers in Australia found that being awake for 18 hours can produce impairment equal to a blood alcohol concentration between .05, and .10 after 24 hours.

Daydreaming, difficulty focusing, having trouble remembering the last few miles driven and feeling restless or irritable, are all signs that drivers should pull over, according to Drowsydriving.org.

Josh Corbat, a sophomore chemistry education major, used the program when driving home one weekend close to Christmas last year, during a blizzard. The hotel that he stopped at was very welcoming.

“The hotel was thrilled that I was there for that, and they were really helpful and sympathetic,” he said.

Corbat suggested students keep the Dozing Discounts pamphlet in their wallet or purse so that they’re aware of what hotels offer the discount.

“Don’t fool yourself while driving. You do have limits, no matter what you think,” he said.

Bridget Kroetsch, a freshman art and design major, has yet to use the Dozing Discounts program but thinks it’s a good idea.

“It’s a good way to save money and you might as well make use of your NMU benefits, so I would definitely use it,” she said.

The Dozing Discounts Program started at NMU after a student from Texas A&M named Lupe Medina died in 1998 after falling asleep at the wheel on his way back to school, Raymond said.

“[Texas A&M] started a national program called the [Lupe Medina Bill] a few years ago and that’s how we got the idea,” she said.

Raymond added that a couple of hotels chose not to participate due to bad experiences with housing college students.

“We encourage students to be respectful and courteous so that the program can move forward,” she said.

For more information on the Dozing Discounts Program visit http://asnmu.nmu.edu/dozing/.