Suppose you are yawning excessively, blinking frequently, missing your exit repeatedly and failing to recall how you even reached your destination. In this situation, your body clearly tells you that you should still be slumbering in your bed and not cruising on the road.
Drowsy driving, or operating a vehicle when sleepy, can have devastating consequences when left unaddressed. As per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving-related crashes resulted in almost 690 fatalities in 2021.
But while any Ohio driver can potentially be half-awake at the wheel, specific drivers are at greater risk of falling asleep to their deaths.
Kinds of drowsy drivers
Most likely due to their lifestyle choices combined with academic and social pressures, teens and young adults are one of the most common drivers who end up in car accidents due to drowsiness, as per the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Aside from them, high-risk drowsy drivers include those who are:
- Working long hours or on a graveyard shift
- Suffering from sleep disorders, like sleep apnea
- Taking medication that makes them groggy
Drowsy driving is also comparable to drunk driving, impairing your focus, reaction time and decision-making. CDC reveals that being awake for 20 hours is like having a 0.08 blood alcohol content. Thus, the more sleep-deprived you are, the higher the chances that you figure into a tragic road accident.
Stay awake at the wheel
It can be as simple as getting enough sleep before taking on the wheel. But demands on your personal and professional lives must make it challenging to get that coveted eight-hour sleep daily. If this holds true, a car collision becomes highly probable. When you suffer injuries, your legal counsel can work on compensation recovery to awaken your senses back into driving.
