Most of us are familiar with the dangers of drunk driving and distracted driving, and while those are common causes of serious or fatal car accidents, fatigued driving is extremely dangerous as well, but gets less attention.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 100,000 accidents are caused by fatigued drivers yearly. Fatigued driving is responsible for thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries.
Causes of fatigued driving
There are many reasons for fatigued driving. While drunk driving typically results in fatigued driving, fatigued driving is common even when the driver has not consumed any alcohol.
Fatigued driving refers to any occurrence when you drive while fatigued or drowsy. Commercial drivers are especially at risk of fatigued driving because of the long hours on the road they put in.
Additionally, shift workers who are awake at odd hours are more susceptible to fatigued driving. Even if you work unconventional hours, your body may get used to staying awake late at night or driving during the day.
A social event that results in you staying out later than usual means that you are likely driving home more fatigued than usual. Drowsiness is a common side effect of medication.
Many of us have stressful jobs and work long hours, while also taking care of children or other responsibilities. Everyday life itself can result in fatigued driving.
In short, there are numerous causes of fatigued driving, which means at any given moment, there are likely many fatigued drivers on Kentucky roads.
Signs of fatigued driving
You can avoid becoming a fatigued driver yourself by knowing how to watch out for signs of fatigued driving. Starting to blink or yawn frequently is a sign you are getting drowsy.
Missing an exit or taking a wrong turn is another warning that you may be getting too fatigued to drive. More serious signs of fatigued driving include nodding off or drifting into another lane or off the road.
Fatigued driving puts everyone else on the road in danger. It is negligent driving.
If you are in an accident with a fatigued driver, you could recover compensation through a personal injury action. However, you must prove negligence.
This means proving that the other driver failed in their legal duty to drive safely and that failure caused your accident. You must also prove your damages, which are the losses you sustained because of the accident.
Proving fatigued driving caused your accident can be challenging because evidence is not always as easy to find. For example, it is typically easier to prove drunk driving because of evidence such as a driver’s blood alcohol test results.
Evidence of fatigued driving
Witness statements are strong evidence in a case involving fatigued driving. Witnesses could testify that they saw the driver drifting between lanes before the accident or looking sleepy.
If the fatigued driver was a truck driver, their hours-of-service logs or other documentation could show that they were on the road longer than they should have been. This can lead to an inference that they were driving while fatigued.
Fatigued driving is a problem in Kentucky and around the country. You have a duty to avoid fatigued driving and a right to compensation if you are injured by a fatigued driver.
