Many people minimize their need to sleep. Some think it’s admirable to sleep as little as possible so they have more hours to get things done. While that may work for some situations, it’s incredibly dangerous when the person has to drive.
Lack of sleep can lead to fatigued driving, which can be a fatal activity. Each hour a person goes without sleep, the danger increases. Eventually, the person will start to have slowed response times and trouble with muscle control, similar to that of a person who is drunk.
At 18 hours without sleep, a person will experience the same effects on driving abilities as a person who has a blood alcohol concentration of .05%. By 20 hours without sleep, the effects are the same as a person with a BAC of .08%, which is legally impaired.
Microsleeps increase the danger
Another issue with fatigued driving is that the person may doze off at the wheel. Even if a doze lasts just five seconds, a catastrophic crash can occur. In that period, a vehicle can go the length of a football field if it’s moving 55 miles per hour.
Because fatigue is a persistent problem, quick fixes won’t work long-term. Instead, the driver needs to get off the road and get the sleep they need. Failure to do this can lead to catastrophic crashes that can injure or kill innocent people.
Victims of fatigued driving crashes may opt to pursue a claim for compensation to offset costs of the crash. This can include things like medical care expenses and lost wages. Working with someone who’s familiar with this type of personal injury case may be beneficial so they can get their case moving forward.
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