Few people wake up with the sun and sleep when it goes down anymore. Thanks to artificial lights, people are awake at all hours. There are opportunities for late-night or all-night entertainment and job shifts that start and finish at any one of the 24 hours of the day.
While this is great in some respects, it is not without problems, one being that it can lead to people driving while too tired to do so.
Insufficient or disturbed sleep worsens driver safety
Think about the average drive. There is so much to focus on. You need to keep an eye on all the other vehicles around you as well as those approaching from the side.
You need to look ahead for pedestrians who might step onto the road, and keep an eye out for changing lights and signs that tell you the speed limit is dropping or your turn-off is coming up.
On top of that, you need to deal with things happening inside your car, be it the flickering oil light, the children squabbling in the back seat or the ceaseless ringing of the phone you sensibly stashed in the glove box.
Seconds matter
Dealing with all of this can be hard enough when you are wide awake and feeling alert. If you are sluggish or drowsy because you have not had enough sleep, your chances of safely navigating your route diminish greatly. Being a second slower to notice you need to brake, or that a motorcycle is approaching alongside you could result in disaster.
Unfortunately, that is the reality for many drivers on the road. They drive tired and with it increase the danger for themselves and those around them. If one of them injures you in a collision it’s important to remember that they made a choice to drive when they had not had enough sleep to do so safely. As such, you can look to them to compensate you for your injuries.
