Have you ever driven when you’re feeling drowsy or fatigued? It’s something that most people have probably experienced before. Maybe you had been in the car for an excessively long time or perhaps you were still in the car late at night. Maybe you had a long day at work, so you were physically worn out as you tried to drive home. Many people do this on a consistent basis without worrying too much about the risks.
But fatigued driving is actually very dangerous. Some reports claim that it leads to more than 6,400 fatalities every year, along with over 109,000 injuries. In total, researchers claim there are about 328,000 annual crashes just because of fatigued drivers.
Why do these accidents happen?
Drowsy driving can impact a person’s safety on many levels. For one thing, a driver who is fatigued may have slower reaction times. Their movements are sluggish. They don’t mentally process what’s happening around them very quickly.
Think about other difficult mental tasks, like trying to solve complex mathematical equations when you’re exhausted. It may feel nearly impossible. Driving is also a complex task and gets much harder with fatigue.
Fatigued drivers may also take other steps to try to keep themselves awake. They could talk to passengers, turn up the radio, roll down a window or drink a cup of hot coffee. These things may help keep them awake, but they introduce new issues. All of these tactics are examples of distracted driving, for example. So even someone who is trying to stay safe could cause an accident.
Have you been injured by another negligent driver? You may need to seek financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages and related costs.
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