Picture yourself in this scenario: You are alone driving your car, your eyelids droop, and yawning ensues. You blink heavily to keep the sleep away, but you’ve veered off your lane and into the oncoming traffic before you know it. Suddenly, the glare from an oncoming car wakes you up, and you straighten your wheels. You’ve just escaped a collision; next time, it may be fatal.
Drowsy Driving vs. Drunk Driving
Drowsy driving and drunk driving have the same effect on the body – sleep deprivation. Staying awake for 18 hours a day makes one drive like he or she has a blood-alcohol level of 0.5. Remember, if it hits 0.8, a DUI is considered drunk.
The only difference between the two drivers manifests when each travels on the same road. A drunk driver will often proceed slowly with sudden swerves. However, their drowsy counterparts can nod off while driving at fast speeds.
It would help if you partnered with car accident lawyers and watched out for some drowsy driving signs.
Some Red flags Car Accident Lawyers Will Mention Are:
- Inability to remember the last section of road you’ve driven
- Droopy eyelids
- Yawning
- Bobbing the head
- Limited focus
- Veering off the lane
Awareness of Drowsy Driving and How to Prevent It
While a person sleeping in a bed for a few minutes is aware of their lapses of wakefulness, it becomes challenging to notice the microsleeps that you get while driving. That hurts one’s ability to react when faced with a near-death situation on the road.
Another problem is that people tend to deny that they are sleepy and that their drowsiness is risky when driving. Most drowsy drivers who get involved in car crashes report that they cannot remember what had happened. That implies that their tiredness caused them to “blackout” instead of falling asleep.
According to car accident lawyers, one can only avoid drowsy driving by getting enough sleep. Knowing the symptoms of drowsy driving can help, so long as you attend to the need by pulling over and switching off the engine and getting sufficient sleep. Alternatively, you can take short 20-minute naps and drink two cups of caffeinated beverages.