As many as one in 6 teen drivers in the United States admits to driving while drowsy. This indicates that the problem of drowsy driving among younger motorists is far more complex than we believe.
Those findings came from a recent study that was conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. The findings of the study were presented at a conference of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies and published in the Sleep journal. The researchers estimate that 1.7 million teenagers have driven while drowsy, and more than 400,000 have done so at least once in a week. The researchers believe that these findings are troubling because we are dealing with teenage motorists or novice drivers with very little experience in driving safely and avoiding auto accidents.
According to the study, teen drivers are aware that drowsy driving is dangerous and can increase their chances of being involved in a car accident. In the study, as many as 95% of them admitted that they believed that drowsy driving was dangerous, but most of them did not believe that it was as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or even driving while using a cell phone. Clearly, the dangers of drowsy driving are not as apparent to teen drivers. Teenagers who had jobs were twice as likely to drive while exhausted or sleepy compared to those with no jobs. Most teenage motorists in the study blamed their work and study schedules for their lack of sleep.
Drowsy driving is dangerous because sleep can significantly impact your ability to drive without causing an auto accident. Drowsy driving is often linked to wrong way driving accidents when a person ends up driving on the wrong side of the roadway. These are dangerous accidents that often result in head-on car accidents, resulting in serious personal injuries or even death. A driver who is sleepy is in danger of veering into the wrong lane. He is also at risk of nodding off while sleeping, losing control of the car and causing a potentially catastrophic auto accident.
As the parent of a teenage driver between the age of 15 and 17, help inculcate strong sleep habits in your child. Enforce restrictions on phone use before bedtime. If you are a teenager, make sure that you are getting the required 8 hours of sleep every night. Avoid late night scrolling on your smartphone as it only delays your sleep time.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. You may qualify for compensation that includes medical costs, lost income and other forms of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm, and discuss your case. Initial consultations are free.