Pulling all-nighters is an obvious source of sleep deprivation for minors and adults in Ohio alike, but one study indicates that drivers do not have to forego an entire night’s rest in order to be a danger on the road. Sleep deprivation can play a serious and significant role in car accidents. While each person might require a different amount of sleep in order to feel well rested, sleeping too few hours each night is enough to make a person feel drowsy behind the wheel.
Chronic deprivation of sleep is far from a new problem, and the issue has been getting increasingly worse since as far back as the 1960s. Back then, most people logged over eight hours of sleep every night. That is far from the case now, where up to 70 million people in America are now victims of sleep disorders that prevent them from getting an adequate night’s sleep.
These types of sleep depriving processes cause people to experience sleepiness and drowsiness during daytime hours. The more tired a person is, the slower they are to respond to emergencies and the less concentration they are able to focus on the road. An otherwise simple lack of sleep can create a deadly combination on the road.
Most people tend to associate fatigue-related wrecks with overworked or neglectful truck drivers, but the average person in Ohio can be just as dangerous if he or she is suffering from sleep deprivation. Car accidents caused by drivers who are not safe to be behind the wheel due to slower reflexes and the inability to concentrate are devastating, although injury victims in Ohio do have options to help address damages. Typically, achieving necessary compensation can be done through the successful navigation of a personal injury claim.
Source: medicaldaily.com, “Sleep Deprivation Across The US: CDC Study Shows Where In America Getting Sleep Is The Hardest“, Samantha Olson, Oct. 8, 2015
