How Often Do Drivers Fall Asleep at the Wheel?

Driver fatigue contributes to a significant portion of traffic accidents in Kentucky and across the United States.

Kentucky State Police say a driver fell asleep in 1,308 crashes in 2019, accounting for almost one of every 100 motor vehicle accidents in the state that year. Seven of the collisions were fatal. Another 696 accidents were reported as caused by fatigue and they resulted in five fatal collisions.

Across the country, nearly 700 people died in crashes involving a drowsy driver in 2019, or almost two out of every 100 fatalities that year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Sleepy drivers are a danger to everyone on the road. Every one of us should be well-rested and alert when we are behind the wheel. No one can predict exactly when they will fall asleep. As we grow more and more sleepy, our ability diminishes to recognize hazardous situations on the road and react to avoid them.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident caused by a driver who may have been asleep at the wheel, the experienced drowsy driver accident attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you seek compensation for your losses in Kentucky. There are tell-tale signs of accidents caused by drivers who were sleepy or fell asleep. Our attorneys can help you demand full compensation if you’ve been hurt by a drowsy driver. Call us at (877) 809-6889 or reach out to us online to set up a free consultation about your legal options.

What Are the Dangers of Drowsy Driving?

Nearly everyone has tried to stay awake at some point while their bodies were telling them to go to sleep, whether while studying for exams in school or while trying to stay awake for the New Year. Some people battle fatigue on a daily basis, including many workers who work late shifts and split day-and-night shifts.

In the most recent drowsy driving statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC estimates that 1 in 25 adult drivers has fallen asleep while driving in the previous 30 days. The National Sleep Foundation points to its Sleep in America Poll, which found that 60% of adult drivers reported driving while drowsy in the prior year.

It’s not hard to understand the danger of falling asleep at the wheel of a moving automobile. Drowsy driving is different. People don’t understand the danger or the impact of drowsiness on driving. College students who participated in an academic study viewed drowsy driving as an unavoidable part of their lives over which they had little control.

The National Sleep Foundation says sleep deprivation leads to mental impairment that is similar to intoxication, with 24 hours of sleep deprivation roughly equal to a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.10%. That is higher than the legal threshold for a DUI charge.

The term sleep deprivation refers to getting less than the required amount of sleep, which, for adults, ranges from seven to nine hours per night. Teenage drivers need even more nightly sleep.

The detrimental effects of sleep deprivation include:

• Slowed thinking
• Reduced attention span
• Worsened memory
• Poor or risky decision-making
• Lack of energy
• Mood changes, including feelings of stress, anxiety, or irritability

In some cases, sleepiness causes a person to doze off for a few seconds at a time. One study found that 70% of participants who were performing a continuous tracking task for 50 minutes experienced instances of microsleep (0.5-15 seconds). “Microsleeps during continuous visuomotor tasks, such as driving, can be very serious, not only disrupting performance but sometimes leading to injury or death due to accidents,” the study authors said.

At highway speed, a car will travel the length of a football field in the few seconds its driver experiences a microsleep. A drowsy driver who has seconds to apply brakes or swerve to avoid a child who has run out into the road ahead may struggle to respond in time to avoid a collision.

Who Is Most Likely to Drive Drowsy?

Anyone who doesn’t get enough sleep is sleep-deprived and may become too drowsy to drive safely.

Those most likely to be drowsy drivers are:

• People who work long hours, irregular shifts or night shifts, or combine work with long commutes
• People who drive long distances for a living, such as truckers and bus drivers
• Business travelers, who may suffer from jet lag, cross time zones, or spend long hours behind the wheel
• Young drivers who combine limited driving experience with school, socializing, jobs, and a tendency to drive at night, especially males aged 16-25
• New parents, especially young mothers
• People who use medications that make them sleepy
• People with untreated sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea

Contact a Lawyer about a KY Drowsy Driving Accident

Drowsy driving crashes tend to be serious accidents. A driver who falls asleep may not apply the brakes or swerve to avoid the collision. The drowsy driving collision may occur at full speed. If the driver does not admit to having fallen asleep, our investigators can identify probable drowsy driving by the lack of skid marks (or short ones), the severity of vehicle damage, and the severity of injuries.

Many late-model vehicles have event data recorders, known as EDRs or black boxes, which record data about the vehicle’s operation just before the impact of a crash. An EDR download can show a lack of braking, the speed at impact, lack of swerving (trajectory), and other data to support a theory of an accident caused by drowsy driving.

If necessary, we can establish how long the driver was awake prior to the crash through:

• Phone records
• Social media activity
• School or job attendance
• Debit and credit card activity
• Date- and time-stamped receipts
• Witness statements.

The drowsy driving accident lawyers of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer are available in Kentucky to help you seek compensation for your losses after a fatigued driving accident. We supply the Kentucky Courage to take on big insurance companies and fight for justice for our clients. We’ll do the work to develop your claim for compensation while you can focus on healing. If the insurance company representing the at-fault driver refuses to agree to a proper insurance settlement, we’ll take the at-fault driver and their insurers to court. We are successful in reaching a settlement in most cases with a trial.

Our attorneys help injured people harmed by negligent drivers across Kentucky. Call us at (877) 809-5352 for a free legal consultation and let us help you seek the justice that you deserve.

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