Florida Drowsy Driving Accident Lawyer

Drowsy (or fatigued) driving causes thousands of car accidents, injuries, and deaths each year. According to the National Sleep Foundation, drowsy driving is to blame for about 6,400 deaths annually in the US.

In Florida, the state legislature has designated the first week of September each year as Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. The Ronshay Dugan Act, designating the week for fatigued driving awareness, is named for an 8-year-old girl who died after a cement truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and plowed into the activity bus in which she was riding.

If you have been harmed or a family member has lost their life in a drowsy driving car accident, you could be entitled to compensation for your losses. Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney, helps drowsy driving accident victims across South Florida and the Treasure Coast, including Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Fort Pierce, Jupiter, Palm Beach and Vero Beach. For a free consultation, contact us today at our toll-free number or through our online contact form.

Florida Is Serious About Drowsy Driving Accidents 

In addition to the annual Drowsy Driving Prevention Week at the beginning of September, fatigued driving awareness and the “You Snooze, You Lose” campaigns have become major safety efforts of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

While these campaigns promote driver alertness, fatigued driving remains to be a concern. The latest data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) show that in 2021 alone, there were 18 fatal crashes and 1,216 injury crashes in the state where the driver was asleep or fatigued at the wheel.

Many in Florida and across the US compare drowsy driving to drunk-driving or driving while impaired.

Just how often does drowsy driving occur on our roads? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 1 in every 25 adult drivers in the US fell asleep while driving, just within 30 days of getting surveyed.

According to the CDC, the drivers most at risk for driving drowsy are:

• Teen and young adult drivers
• Driving between midnight and 6 a.m., or late in the afternoon
• Drivers who are not sleeping enough
• Commercial truck drivers
• Workers on night shifts or long shifts
• Drivers with sleep disorders
• Drivers who take medication that causes sleepiness.

A typical crash related to drowsiness or falling asleep at the wheel is likely to be serious, the NHTSA says. This is in part because the sleepy or sleeping driver makes no attempt to slow the vehicle or avoid the crash. A study by the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR) and the NHTSA said drowsy driving adversely affects the driver’s reaction time, vigilance, attention, and information processing.

The use of certain medications, including sedatives like anxiolytic hypnotics, tricyclic antidepressants and some antihistamines, can cause drowsiness. Drinking alcohol, which is a sedative, compounds the detrimental effect that drowsiness has on physical and mental activity.

Drivers who decide to get behind the wheel when they are too sleepy to drive safely should be held accountable when their recklessness results in harm to others. People who are injured by a drowsy driver have the right to pursue compensation for their losses through a personal injury lawsuit. If someone has died in a car wreck caused by fatigued driving, the surviving family members may consider a wrongful death lawsuit against the drowsy driver.

Contact a Florida Drowsy Driving Lawyer Today 

At Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney, we help victims of drowsy driving accidents in Florida recover from their injuries and losses. When a driver chooses to get behind the wheel though he is too sleepy to drive safely and causes injury, death or property damage in a car wreck, those who have suffered should be made whole financially.

Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney, is dedicated to helping people in Florida who have suffered because of someone driving while impaired by fatigue or sleepiness. If you or a loved one has been injured because of drowsy driving, or you have lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a fatigued driver, you may have a right to compensation for your injuries and losses.

Since 1975, our firm has investigated the circumstances of thousands of auto accidents on behalf of clients throughout South Florida and have offices in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Okeechobee, Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach. If you’ve been hurt, Philip DeBerard is on your side.

Contact us today by calling our toll-free number or using our online contact form. You can put our Florida drowsy driving accident lawyers to work on your case right away.