Sleeping While Driving?
Many accidents occur due to a driver being under the influence of drugs or alcohol but what about drivers being too drowsy or sleepy to drive? Falling asleep at the wheel is as dangerous as a person drinking and driving. The result can be just as devastating. Getting little or interrupted sleep over an extended period of time can cause a person to become drowsy or fatigued, which can result in impaired driver's reaction time, judgment and impair their vision.
City Commissions in Margate, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Pompano Beach and the Broward County Commission have started a public awareness campaign designed to educate the public of the dangers of driving while drowsy. Experts suggest a person needs at least 6 to 8 hours of restful sleep to maintain alertness during the day. Shift workers are most often affected by lack of sleep as their schedules don't always coincide with getting children off to school in the mornings and waking up at various hours to tend to ill children. Working nights often affects your internal body clock; making sleep difficult during daytime hours.
Always make sure to rest before driving, so that a sleepy you is not the cause of a misfortunate accident. When taking long driving trips, always plan ahead and identify where you will stop along the way to rest and for meals. Taking the time to stretch or walk around during a long trip helps keep you energized and alert. On a long trip, you should take breaks about every 100 miles or every two hours of driving. A driving companion can not only share the driving but talk along the way, keeping you engaged and alert. If you should be in an accident along the way, due to a drowsy driver. Contact an injury attorney and get important information on how to pursue a claim and protect your rights if you are injured in an accident.
