By now, most everyone in Atlanta probably knows that adults are recommended to get at least between seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Yet often, people feel as though they can sacrifice an hour or two here and there without hurting anybody but themselves. Unfortunately, there’s the potential for danger in that line of thinking.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that those who’ve been awake for more than 24 hours consecutively could experience the same cognitive impairments as a drunk driver with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent, which is above the legal limit in Georgia. Such numbers may be enough to dissuade you from driving while drowsy, but what about others on the road around you? How can you tell if someone driving near you or who even might have collided with you on the road was driving drowsy?
Your first thought may be that such a thing would most likely happen late at night. Yet surprisingly, most statistics show that drowsy driving accidents happen during the day after drivers have had little to no sleep the night before. Instead of focusing on the time of day, focus instead on drivers driving irregularly on the road. These are some of the telltale signs of a drowsy driver:
- Drifting in and out of a lane or onto the shoulder of the road
- Driving with all of the windows down
- A driver’s head bobbing up and down
- Repeatedly speeding up and then slowing down
If someone driving this way causes a car crash in which you were involved, you may want to share your observations with law enforcement. While this should not be viewed as legal advice, it may assist in helping assign liability should a dispute arise.
