Drowsy driving is having serious consequences nationwide. Lives are being lost, and billions of dollars’ worth of damage are occurring. Drowsy drivers are unsafe drivers because they are impaired in many of the same ways that motorists who are drunk are impaired. An intoxicated motorist has impaired judgment, delayed reactions, and is more likely to doze off. The same characteristics are true of someone who is drowsy. Fatigued motorists need to be held accountable for the damage that they cause by their choice to drive while impaired by being overtired. Victims of drowsy driving accidents can get help from a New York City personal injury law firm in pursuing a claim for damages.
How Big is the Problem of Drowsy Driving?
According to recent reports, drowsy driving results in around 5,00 fatalities every year across the United States. Anywhere from two percent to 20 percent of deaths in traffic accidents are caused by drowsy drivers, although it is difficult to make a precise assessment because not all collisions caused by fatigue are correctly recorded. This should come as no surprise when considering just how many drowsy drivers there are. Estimates suggest that there are approximately 83.6 million Americans who are sleep-deprived who are on the roads every day. So many Americans are sleep deprived because adults typically require at least seven hours of sleep every night and very few people end up getting this much rest. While some of these drivers cause very serious crashes, others may cause collisions that result in minor injuries or property damage only. Even property damage crashes can have grave consequences, though, especially when factoring in total losses. State Farm, one of the largest auto insurers, recently indicated that the annual cost of fatigue-related crashes causing fatalities and injuries exceeds $109 billion, with additional billions in losses caused by property-damage only collisions. There are efforts being made to address the issue. Early in 2016, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau held a summit at the University of Iowa in an effort to assess the extent of the drowsy driving problem and to try to develop proposed solutions. Educating the public is especially important, as many people are not aware of the scope of the drowsy driving problem or of the extent of losses which occur each year as a result of driver fatigue. Drivers need to learn why they should not get on the road if they are too tired to be safe, and efforts should be made to encourage motorists to get enough rest. Most importantly, drivers need to know they should stop driving when they start to feel tired. If drivers don’t make the safe choice to avoid fatigued driving and if car accidents occur as a result of their actions, victims should consult with Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff to get assistance with pursuing a claim for compensation. Victims can hold drowsy drivers accountable for serious injury and wrongful death by proving the driver failed to live up to expectations to exercise reasonably safe driving behavior.
