You have probably seen or heard plenty of warnings about the dangers of doing certain things while driving. For example, you should avoid drinking alcohol before driving or avoid using your phone while driving. Yet, there is one issue that can be just as dangerous and does not get nearly the attention it should.
Drowsy driving (driving while you are tired) is something that almost every driver does at some point. Some people do it a lot, yet few people question it. The National Safety Council estimates that drowsy driving plays a role in 100,000 crashes and the 1,550 deaths each year.
When you look at those figures, you might assume it is drivers falling asleep at the wheel and losing control. That accounts for some of it, but often, the drivers don’t actually fall asleep at the wheel. Rather, they miss something or make a poor decision because they are not fully alert.
Fatigue affects your brain’s ability to work
It’s part of the reason so many people grab a coffee at some point in their workday – they feel tired and know it is affecting their ability to do whatever task they must do. Yet, most tasks do not have the same potential for danger as driving. While grabbing a coffee might raise a driver’s alertness temporarily to get them home safely, it is no replacement for rest. However close a driver is to their destination, however important it is for them to arrive on time, continuing to drive when they feel tired is dangerous.
Rest is the only solution for tiredness. If a driver tries to push on through tiredness and injures you, you have a right to seek compensation for any injuries they caused you.
