You’ve probably experienced driving while feeling overly fatigued. It gets hard to keep your eyes open. The sound of the wheels on the road begins to lull you to sleep. You struggle to stay alert until you get home.
This is bad enough, but what is even more frightening is how often drivers actually fall asleep behind the wheel. The CDC estimates that, in just the past month, this has happened to 1 out of 25 drivers over 18. With over 229 million drivers in the U.S. — and that only counts those who are registered — that means more than nine million of them fell asleep behind the wheel in the last month.
You have to share the road with these drivers. The next time you’re driving, especially at night, it may be worth keeping in mind. Be very cautious if another driver appears fatigued.
Tired drivers are a risk, too
The statistics above don’t tell the whole story. If one out of every 25 drivers has fallen asleep, how many other drivers have barely managed to stay awake, despite being close to sleep? You know from experience that you can be so fatigued that it impacts your driving without really nodding off entirely. But tired drivers can also cause accidents due to simple errors, worse reaction times and other such issues.
If you are injured, you need to know how to seek compensation
An accident can lead to high medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and more. You may be able to seek compensation from the at-fault driver.