Louisiana motorists may be alarmed to learn about the number of drowsy drivers there are these days and the impact they are having on the nation’s highways. A study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that at more than 10 percent of the drivers surveyed said that they had dozed behind the wheel in the preceding 12 months, and more than 33 percent of motorists admitted to falling asleep while driving during their lifetime.
Moreover, the study revealed that about one-fifth of fatal vehicular accidents involved a drowsy driver, which was an increase of about 5 percent from a similar study done in 2010. The accidents often occur when drivers swerve off the roadway or into other lanes. In many cases, the drowsy driver is killed in a single-car accident.
When drivers were interviewed by the study’s researchers about 95 percent of them agreed that people who are too drowsy to safely operate a vehicle should not attempt to do so. These motorists had a general understanding about the dangers of driving under such circumstances. The goal of the foundation that issued the yearly report is to make people aware of the risks posed by drowsy drivers and to encourage all drivers to apply the findings to themselves.
People who attempt to operate a vehicle while feeling drowsy may be held liable if they cause an accident that leaves another person injured. A victim of a car crash caused by the actions of a drowsy driver might consider contacting a personal injury lawyer to find out how to hold the driver responsible for his or her losses. Information that can be used as evidence can include results from the official accident report filed by responding officers, testimony from eyewitnesses and the plaintiff’s medical records and proof of accident-related expenses.
Source: AAA Foundation, “Drowsy Driving”, November 1, 2014
