Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

In the United States, 250,000 drivers are sleep-deprived behind the wheel every day, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The National Sleep Foundation supports this finding by sharing their poll data, which found 54% of adult drivers, said they had driven while drowsy during the past year with 28% saying they had actually fallen asleep while driving.

The consequences of sleep deprivation while driving contribute to more than 100,000 crashes annually per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. When a crash involves a bus accident—similar to the tragic Wildcats accident—multiple lives are irreversibly impacted. See Seeger Weiss’ recent victory for the injured Wildcat victims.

Sleep deprivation has been proven to affect driving ability in the following areas:
  1. Impairing coordination.
  2. Causing longer reaction times.
  3. Impairing judgment
Commercial motor vehicle drivers (including bus drivers) in the country must abide by the regulations set forth by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The rules limit the number of daily and weekly hours spent driving and working, and regulate the minimum amount of time drivers can spend to avoid being sleep-deprived.

Education and Sleeper lines


Governments have attempted to reduce sleep-deprived driving through education and embedding roads with dents, known as sleeper lines or rumble strips. First implemented on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey in 1952, sleeper lines cause a noise, a vibration and a rumbling when drivers wander out of their lane as a way to prevent accidents. These tools have not only helped with sleep deprived drivers but also with inattentive drivers. They are either applied in the direction of travel along an edge or in the center to alert drivers when they drift.

Shoulder sleeper line installation initially focused on freeways using rolled-in strips of different designs using a modified roller on a pavement rolling machine. Later, paving contractors modified machines to mill sleeper lines into existing hardened asphalt pavement then came specifically designed machines. The latest development of ceramic and plastic raised systems enables sleeper lines to be placed on concrete pavement highways not only asphalt.

If you have suffered injuries due to a sleep deprived commercial driver, contact Seeger Weiss. We are well informed on current regulations and can properly advise you.

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