Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers Help Victims of Car Crashes Resulting from Sleep Deprivation
It’s almost cliché that few adults get the amount of sleep they or the medical profession feel that they need. The statistics support this assertion. A Gallup poll from December 2013 found that 40% of Americans get less than the recommended seven to
The problem of sleep deprivation while driving seems to be pervasive. The National Sleep Foundation reported in 2005 that 60% of adult drivers said they had driven a vehicle while drowsy in the preceding year, and 37% said they had fallen asleep while driving. Of the 37% that had fallen asleep, 13% admitted that they did so once a month or more. 4%, or eleven million drivers, stated they had had car accidents, or nearly had car accidents, because they had dozed off or were fatigued. The problem of driving while sleepy is particularly acute for males between the ages of 16 to 29, shift workers who work at night or who work long or irregular hours, and people with untreated sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy. A study of 80 long-haul truck drivers in the US and Canada found that they averaged less than five hours of sleep per day. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that sleep deprivation was the most likely cause of over half of fatal truck driving crashes.
In Europe, driving while drowsy is estimated to be the cause of 10 to 30% of all crashes. In the United States, however, statistics on car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation are not entirely accurate for various reasons. Unlike in the case of intoxication, there is no test to determine sleep deprivation. State reporting practices are inconsistent as there is little or no police training in identifying sleepiness as a cause of an accident. Often crashes are simply attributed to driver inattentiveness or alcohol. Finally, individuals who are responsible forcar crashes resulting from sleep deprovation are not prone to admitting the fact. Still, estimates of car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation in the US range from 16 to 60%.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to impair coordination, judgment, memory, and the ability to retain information. It also can cause longer reaction times, a critical factor in avoiding accidents. Various indicators can infer that a particular crash was at least in part the result of drowsiness.
- Usually such crashes occur during late night/early morning hours, or in the midafternoon. These are the times of day when people normally experience the urge to sleep.
- The crash oftentimes is very serious.
- The crash involves a single vehicle leaving the roadway.
- The accident occurs on a high-speed road.
- The driver does nothing to avoid the crash.
- The driver is alone.
Obviously, sleep deprivation is a major concern for traffic safety. If you have been injured in a vehicle accident, it is possible that sleep deprivation may have been one of the main causes. To determine your rights, you should seek out the advice of competent Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers who are skilled at identifying crashes that fit the pattern of sleep deprivation car accidents and who know the laws surrounding such cases. You may be able to recover lost wages, medical costs, as well as damages for pain and suffering. Call today for a consultation.
Contact a Tulsa Injury Attorney Versed in Car Crashes Resulting From Sleep Deprivation:
If youve been involved in a car accident of any kind or a car crash resulting from sleep deprivation call our Tulsa personal injury attorneys today. We offer our injury clients a free consultation and we never get any money unless you get paid.
Car crashes resulting from sleep deprivation
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