Most drivers have been in the position of feeling their eyelids start to droop as they struggle to stay awake while navigating Mississippi freeways. Although it is extremely dangerous to drive when a person is overly tired, drowsy driving is all too common. People are working longer hours to make ends meet, so they are getting less sleep at night. This lack of sleep means that motorists often struggle to stay awake and concentrate on the roadway. Many drivers have had the experience of briefly dozing off before desperately trying to steer their vehicle back into their lane or onto the roadway.
The growing number of Mississippi car accidents caused by sleep deprived drivers is the product of a number of factors, which includes the general trend of people to get less sleep. Long work hours combined with traffic laden commutes often prevent people from balancing family and employment responsibilities. When family and parenting obligations must be fulfilled after getting home from work, this leaves little time to get an adequate night’s rest. There also has been an increase in the number of diagnosed sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea related to obesity.
Recent research reveals the impact of lack of sleep on traffic safety. A survey conducted by the AAA Foundation revealed that a third of respondents indicated that they had operated a motor vehicle while overly tired during the prior one month period. A separate study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that six in ten drivers conceded that they had operated a motor vehicle while extremely sleep deprived during the prior 12 months. Further, four in ten drivers admitted dozing off behind the wheel.
Although drowsy driving might be harder to prove than operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol, these studies suggest that tired drivers might pose as great a risk of traffic fatalities as alcohol impaired drivers. Efforts to eliminate drowsy driving might be less successful because this unsafe driving practice is not viewed with the same level of disdain as substance impaired driving. This difference in attitudes might be based on the belief that drunk driving is more dangerous. However, research reveals that a driver who has been deprived of sleep for a 20 hour period exhibits impaired mental and physical driving abilities comparable to a motorist with a blood alcohol concentration over the level limit of .08 percent.
Motorists without adequate sleep exhibit a range of impaired abilities, including the following:
- Sluggish reflexes
- Distorted or blurry vision
- Impaired concentration and decision-making
- Tendency to doze off (micro-naps)
- Less precision when using fine motor skills
One indicator of the magnitude of risk associated with driving without adequate sleep is that law enforcement investigators often find no skid marks at sleep-deprivation related crash site. Since a sleeping motorists cannot even slowdown prior to a crash, the risk of fatality increases significantly. Our Mississippi Traffic Collision Lawyers are committed to holding unsafe drivers accountable for their actions and seeking compensation for individuals who suffer serious injury or lose a loved one. Contact Barrett Law today at (800) 707-9577 to schedule your free consultation.