Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

The National Sleep Foundation and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety have joined forces for this year's Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, educating the public on ways to reduce the risks of fatigue-related car accidents in Atlanta and elsewhere. The 2011 campaign is taking place this week through Saturday.

Our Atlanta trucking accident attorneys understand that truck driver fatigue has been a popular conversation topic among safe driving advocates in recent months. Trucking accidents overall kill more than 5,000 people ever year and injure about 150,000. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that there were more than 750 fatalities and another 20,000 injuries resulting from accidents with fatigued truckers. Unfortunately, it happens all too often. A driver of a commercial truck gets sleepy at the wheel because he or she has worked too many hours and hasn't slept enough.

To help raise awareness about this dangerous driving habit, AAA released its findings regarding drowsy driving from a recent study, according to CBS Atlanta. The study concluded that although more than 95 percent of surveyed drivers said that drowsy driving was completely unacceptable, about a third of all drivers were still guilty of the dangerous habit.

Drowsy driving can produce fatal consequences, especially when a large truck is involved. Fatigued drivers are reportedly involved in one out of every six deadly accidents. Sleepy drivers are among the top contributors to trucking accidents in the U.S., contributing to nearly 15 percent of all fatal trucking accidents.

More than 40 percent of drivers who were surveyed by AAA admitted to having fallen asleep behind the wheel at least once. What's alarming is that a majority of these drivers fell asleep while they were driving at high speeds.

"Drivers have a tendency to underestimate the impact being tired has on their driving ability, which puts themselves and others at risk," said AAA Foundation president and CEO Peter Kissinger.

You may be getting sleepy at the wheel if you are having trouble focusing on the road, you are swerving in and out of your lane, you can't clearly remember the last few miles driven, you're yawning excessively, feeling irritable, restless or aggressive, or overlooking traffic lights, for instance.

How to prevent drowsy driving:

-Get at least seven hours of sleep before you head out on a long trip.

-Take a break every two hours or every 100 miles.

-Travel with a passenger. Switch drivers when you start to feel sleepy.

-Never drive during times that you'd normally be sleeping.

Remember that one of the worst things you can do behind the wheel if you feel sleepy is to try to power through it. If you start feeling tired, the best thing to do is pull over in a safe spot and rest.