“You know what? I dozed off. Man, I just dozed off.\” That is
reportedly what a trucker recently told a witness to a
truck accident that resulted in two deaths and multiple injuries. The drowsy trucker
slammed his enormous tractor-trailer into nine vehicles.
It’s just one example of the nightmares that can come true when drowsy
people get behind the wheels of large commercial vehicles.
Joplin readers know this is the very type of crash that has occurred in
our area; completely preventable disasters triggered by someone who has
not had enough sleep and should not be driving.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleepiness greatly impairs
a person’s ability to drive: “as much or more so than alcohol,
studies show.”
The foundation says AAA has estimated that one out of every eight motor
vehicle accidents that results in injuries requiring hospitalization is
due to drowsy driving.
More than four out of 10 drivers admit that they have dozed off while driving.
One out of 10 drivers said they’ve done it within the past 12 months.
It doesn’t take much to imagine the awful damage a drowsy trucker
or sleepy passenger vehicle driver can do on the streets of Joplin or
out on I-44.
In the case we mentioned at the top of this blog post, two people lost their lives
and others were injured when the trucker apparently dozed off and his
big rig veered into oncoming traffic in Maidencreek Township, Pennsylvania.
An attorney experienced in
wrongful death and personal injury matters can help victims’ families and injury
victims to weigh their legal options and pursue full and fair compensation.
