Articles Posted in Car Accidents

November 8-14, 2010 marks Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. According to the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, 41% of drivers surveyed have admitted to drowsy driving. Unfortunately, what many people fail to realize is that driving while tired is similar to driving while under the influence of alcohol. Impaired judgment, slowed reflexes, blurred vision, a foggy mind, and possibly drifting in and out of consciousness can be symptoms of both drunk driving and drowsy driving. Our Miami car accident lawyers have seen the catastrophic consequences that can arise when someone is exhausted or falls asleep while operating a motor vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drivers who fall asleep while driving are responsible for 71,000 traffic injuries, 1,550 fatalities, and over 100,000 motor vehicle crashes in the US annually. Per the AAA Foundation’s new study, drowsy driving plays a role in 16.5% of deadly US traffic crashes.

Among the study’s findings:
• Young drivers, ages 16-24, were the ones most likely to fall asleep while driving.
• Men more than women were more likely to fall asleep while operating a motor vehicle.
• 26.1% of those who admitted to falling asleep while driving did so between the hours of noon and 5pm. The percentage was about the same for drivers who fell asleep between midnight and 6am.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a person that risks drowsy driving takes the chance that he/she will fall asleep at the wheel. That said, some groups are at higher risk of drowsy driving. In addition to young drivers, other motorists who are potentially at risk of this dangerous driving behavior include:

• Shift workers
• Commercial truck drivers
• People with sleep disorders-especially undiagnosed ones
• Business travelers suffering from jetlag
• Tired travelers

One need only look back to the 2009 Miami tractor-trailer accident in Oklahoma involving a 76-year-old trucker who investigators say fell asleep at the wheel. The multi-vehicle chain reaction crash that he triggered killed 10 people and injured 6 others.

Study examines toll of drowsy driving, Washington Post, November 8, 2010
Study shows drowsy drivers behind the wheel, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Driving Tired is Like Driving Drunk, US News & World Report

Related Web Resources:
Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, National Sleep Foundation (PDF)

Read the AAA Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Report (PDF)
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2,558 people were killed in Florida traffic accidents last year. Alcohol was a factor in 770 of the fatalities. On one hand, these latest figures show positive progress. In 2008, NHTSA reported 2,980 Florida traffic fatalities-887 involving an alcohol-impaired driver. The number of Florida traffic deaths have gone down. That said, our Miami car accident law firm looks forward to the day when there are even less traffic injuries and deaths occurring each year in Florida.

Nationally, there also has been a decrease in motor vehicle traffic crash deaths and injuries. NHTSA reports that there were 33,308 motor vehicle fatalities in 2009-a 9.7% drop from the year before and the lowest number of deaths since 1950. Even the number of US motorcycle crash deaths went down from 5,312 fatalities in 2008 to 4,462 deaths in 2009.

More 2009 US Traffic Deaths and Injuries Facts:
• 2,217,000 traffic crash injuries
• 503 truck crash deaths
• 17,000 truck accident injuries
• 90,000 motorcycle crash injuries
• 4,092 pedestrian deaths
• 59,000 pedestrian injuries
• 630 pedalcyclist deaths
• 70,000 pedalcyclist injuries

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says that the government is committed to making the roads safer.

NHTSA also has just released its 2009 Distracted Driving Fatality and Injury Numbers:
• 5,474 US distracted driving-related deaths
• 448,000 distracted driving-related injuries

Mr. LaHood has referred to distracted driving as an epidemic. Talking on the cell phone, texting, eating, playing computer games, fiddling with an iPod or stereo, surfing the Internet on a laptop, watching a movie on a portable DVD player, putting on makeup, and reading a book or magazine are just some examples of activities that people have been known to engage in while driving that have distracted them to the point that traffic crash injuries and deaths have occurred.

Although many states have imposed at least some (if not a full) restriction on texting and cell phone use, currently Florida has no such restrictions.

Distracted Driving 2009, NHTSA (PDF)

Highlights of 2009 Motor Vehicle Crashes (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Transportation

US Department of Transportation

Distraction.gov
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