Arianna Huffington, of the Huffington Post, is calling on drivers to take the Pledge to Not Drive Drowsy. Although we hear about the dangers of distracted driving and drunk driving all of the time, we rarely hear about just how dangerous driving while drowsy is. As Americans, we value hard work and praise those who pull all nighters in the pursuit of success and achievement. Unfortunately, we give little thought to how safe it is for those people to drive home after a long night of working or studying. Drowsy driving has become a dangerous and deadly epidemic across the U.S. Arianna and other advocates are now calling on motorists to make the pledge to not get behind the wheel drowsy.
Drowsy Driving is a Dangerous Epidemic
Currently, drowsy driving is thought to be responsible for about 1.2 million crashes each year. There are up to 500,000 injuries and 8,000 lives lost associated with drowsy driving annually. These numbers are thought to be fairly conservative too, because there’s not exactly a standardized test like blood alcohol content (BAC) to determine if somebody was driving while drowsy. With Americans consistently working longer hours at more jobs, who knows how high the real numbers are?
Drowsy Driving is Like Drunk Driving
Research suggests that driving after being awake for 18 hours is similar to having a BAC of .05, and driving after being wakeful for 24 hours is like having a BAC of .10. Reaction times and judgment are severely impaired in both drunk and drowsy driving situations. More disturbingly, the commercial trucking industry is well known for extremely long hours and overnight hauls. Even if drivers manage to stay awake behind the wheel, they’re putting lives at risk due to the impact to decision-making abilities, reaction times and impaired judgment. At this time, only two states, Alaska and New Jersey, have laws against drowsy driving.
If you have been injured or if you have lost a loved one due to a drowsy driver in San Francisco or San Jose, contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at Alexander Law Group, LLP at 888.777.1776 for a free case consultation.
