Government researchers have got it wrong, states a recent report from the
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Drivers’ drowsiness leading to
roadway injuries and fatalities is a far bigger problem than they have
long concluded.
A federal estimate that sleepy motorists’ negligent driving behaviors
are catalysts in no more than 2% of vehicle crashes in Indiana and nationally
is way off the mark, states AAA. Better data now reveal that
drowsiness is a key factor in up to 10% or more of crashes yielding serious
injuries and deaths.
And the risks, study analysts say, spike sharply upward during nighttime
hours, a period when many commercial truckers are plying state and national
roads on extended-hour long-haul routes.
The implications for a sleep-deprived country are nowhere more immediate
and tragically apparent than on America’s streets and freeways, says
AAA. Reportedly, a person notably in need of sleep can be closely akin
to a drunk driver when behind the wheel.
And speaking of drinking, it is pointed to as the greatest scourge of all
for the motoring public. A recent CDC report states that drunk driving
was implicated in about one-third of all crash deaths in a recent year.
Clearly (and when coupled even further with various driver distractions
like smart phones), the culprits undermining safety for Indiana motorists
and other drivers and passengers across the U.S. are many and serious.
We certainly know that from long experience at the established personal
injury firm of Tabor Law in Indianapolis. Our proven attorneys routinely provide
strong and on-point advocacy for injury victims and families whose lives have been adversely affected by the negligent behavior of
other parties.
We welcome contacts to the firm to discuss the work we do for clients who
turn to us for legal help when it is urgently needed.
