Driver Fatigue Serious Consequences

Driver fatigue is a serious issue that can result in tragic accidents. The risk of driver fatigue is, of course, greater for drivers who are covering long distances or driving through the night. And this, of course, means that the risk of truck drivers experiencing severe driver fatigue that can result in a fatal accident is higher than with average drivers who are not expected to chart long distances in short time periods, often requiring overnight driving. The consequences for such negligence are strict. According to the Chicago Tribune, trucker who fell asleep behind the wheel, subsequently causing an accident near Aurora that killed a tollway worker and severely injured a state trooper was sentenced to three years in prison in mid-April.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of adult American drivers — a staggering 168 million people — admit they have driven a vehicle when they were perhaps too drowsy to have done so. More than one-third of people admit to having had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. Approximately 11 million drivers — four percent of adult drivers — admit to having had an accident because they were too tired to have been driving.

National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration statistics, as reported by the National Sleep Foundation, reveal that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue. These cost up to $12.5 billion in monetary losses, and an estimated 1,550 deaths every year. Unfortunately, there is no way to verify these statistics, as there is no objective tool for measuring a driver’s drowsiness, such as a breathalyzer that is used to measure intoxication behind the wheel. Yet statistics show that adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are the most likely to drive fatigued out of all driving age groups. Men are more likely than women to drive drowsy, and almost twice as likely to have a crash because of fatigued driving.

If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident in which driver fatigue or drowsiness were at fault, you may be eligible for compensation. Do not go through it alone. Contact an experienced Lake County accident attorney today.