Exhaustion is such a common experience among the adult workers in the United States that people often brag about getting by on fewer than 6 hours of sleep or having long, stressful days at work that force them to work on the weekends, too.
What people who pride themselves on staying busy often don’t consider is how dangerous feeling exhausted can actually be, especially when driving a motor vehicle. The more tired or drowsy you are and the longer it’s been since you’ve had sleep, the greater the potential cognitive impacts of your fatigue.
Quite a few drivers choose to get behind the wheel when they are so tired that they can’t focus or are at risk of falling asleep at the wheel. The chances are good that you cross paths with several people who are too tired to drive on any day that you commute to work, and they could increase your risk for a serious collision.
Just how prevalent is drowsy driving?
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 72,000 crashes annually could result from tired drivers, but the figure is likely underreported because people don’t want to admit they drove while they felt so tired that they were falling asleep at the wheel.
With the popularity of caffeine in American culture, you might imagine that most people are fully alert while driving, but a survey of more than 15,000 adults found that 4% would admit to falling asleep while driving at least once in the last month.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a fatigued driver, an experienced attorney can help you seek compensation for a variety of damages, including lost wages, medical expenses and more.
