Driver fatigue is so widespread across the country that experts recognize it as a public health problem. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls fatigue drowsy driving, but the condition covers both acute sleepiness and generally being worn down.
When fatigue affects drivers, it’s almost always because they have not gotten enough sleep before getting behind the wheel. Across the United States, driver fatigue has caused tens of thousands of crashes annually, resulting in tens of thousands of injuries and hundreds (if not thousands) of fatalities. In fact, those figures are likely low, as it is widely believed that accidents resulting from fatigue go massively underreported.
In this blog post, we take a deeper dive into the epidemic of fatigued driving on American roads.
An Underreported Problem
Experts believe fatigued driving goes underreported because research suggests that about one-third of Americans do not get enough sleep. Thus, many collisions that look as if they were caused by reckless driving or other moving violations, at their root, likely stem from driver fatigue. With at least one in three drivers, on average, lacking proper sleep, odds are fatigue plays a role in far more accidents than reported.
Further evidence of underreporting comes from the stunning report that 41 percent of drivers say they have fallen asleep while driving at some point in their lives. Ten percent say it has happened in the past year. And falling asleep is just one of the ways fatigue can cause an accident. Drowsiness also impairs reaction times, coordination, and judgment in much the same way that alcohol does. Yet, people have a choice not to drive after drinking. They rarely even think about whether they’ve had enough sleep before getting behind the wheel.
The American Automobile Association believes that more than 16 percent of fatal traffic accidents and more than 12 percent of accident injuries that result in hospitalization were caused, ultimately, by drowsy driving. In Georgia, 385,221 vehicle crashes were reported in 2015, resulting in 1,430 fatalities. If Triple A’s statistics are correct, then 228 of Georgia’s traffic deaths that year can be attributed to fatigued driving in our state alone.
Why Are Drivers Fatigued?
Drivers are fatigued either because they didn’t get enough sleep or because the sleep they did get wasn’t restful. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep per night to be fully rested. Some people try to get by on six or fewer. Whether the cause is staying up late to work, to stream movies, or simply because of chronic insomnia, the effect is the same.
In addition, people may sleep fitfully and wake up often during the night. They can cause just as much fatigue as not sleeping at all.
Fatigue can happen to any driver who doesn’t get enough sleep. The CDC notes, however, that some categories of people are more prone to not getting enough sleep. Commercial truck drivers, for example, are more apt to drive fatigued or sleepy than other drivers. Even though these drivers must follow regulations that limit the number of hours they can spend behind the wheel, the scheduling of shifts often interferes with their sleep cycles. If they have been driving during the day, for example, and their shifts change to requiring them to drive at night, they will likely find it difficult to get restful sleep before their shifts, and may experience a strong urge to sleep while behind the wheel.
Folks who work night shifts or long shifts may also be more prone to fatigue, for a similar reason. People who work night shifts need to sleep during the day. But if they are transitioning to a night shift suddenly, it may take some time before they can sleep soundly. In addition, sleeping during the day is more difficult on the whole, due to activity in the household during the day, lightness outside, and so on.
Finally, people with sleep disorders or who take medications that make them tired or drowsy are both more apt to drive fatigued. Sleep apnea, for example, is a disorder where people tend to start awake frequently. It doesn’t make for restful sleep.
How Do I Know If Fatigue Causes an Accident?
What if a fatigued driver causes an accident that injures you or a loved one?
It can be difficult to assess on your own whether the other driver’s fatigue contributed to your accident. In most accidents, though, drivers stop and exchange information, such as contact and insurance information. If you notice that a driver seems sleepy or looks bleary eyed, mention it to the law enforcement officers on the scene. The information should then go into the police report.
Fatigue tends to lead to a precipitating event for an accident. For instance, it can cause someone to change lanes without looking to see if it’s clear, to run a stop sign, or to fail to slow down for a child in the street. The precipitating event will be seen by most people as the accident’s cause. But in the accident’s aftermath, a closer investigation may reveal the role fatigue played.
Can I Sue a Fatigued Driver Who Injured Me?
If a driver operates a vehicle in a way that causes an accident, that driver may have legal liability for the injuries the accident inflicted on others. Drivers have a legal duty to exercise reasonable care behind the wheel. If they have failed to use ordinary care, then they can be found negligent, and thus liable for injuries.
Driving fatigued is, arguably, a form of negligence. Every driver should have an adequate level of mental alertness behind the wheel. Drowsy or fatigued driving is no more justified than driving drunk is. Anyone that is too fatigued to drive safely should not drive. Period.
People harmed in a vehicle accident caused by another person are entitled to compensation for economic damages. Bills for medical treatment, for example, are economic damages, and so are wages lost from work. In Georgia, accident victims can often recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages that have already occurred, and for prospective medical treatment and prospective time lost from work. They may also recover compensation for non-economic losses, such as pain and suffering and loss of life enjoyment.
Call a Car Accident Lawyer for Help
If you sustained injuries in an accident caused by a fatigued driver, seek legal help right away. Contact a skilled Georgia personal injury attorney who can review your case and tell you your rights.
