NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION SAYS “DROWSY DRIVING” IS AN UNDERREPORTED CAUSE OF CRASHES

As a public service, the personal injury lawyers at Liever, Hyman & Potter, P.C. in Reading, PA, want to share some information about an underreported cause of motor vehicle crashes, and the availability of an education program to address it, from the website of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”).  According to NHTSA:

“Drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes a year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths. As tragic as these numbers are, they only tell a portion of the story. It is widely recognized that drowsy driving is underreported as a cause of crashes. And this doesn’t include incidents caused by driver inattention.

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In 1996, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) embarked on an effort to reduce the effects that fatigue and driver inattention have on highway safety. While everyone is susceptible to drowsy-driving crashes, shift workers run a particularly high risk. Their natural sleep patterns are disrupted by working nights or long and irregular hours.

In collaboration with National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR), NHTSA developed an education program to increase shift workers’ awareness of the dangers of drowsy driving, help them to improve the quality of their sleep and reduce sleepiness, and ultimately, reduce the incidence of drowsy driving.”

(Source: NHTSA website, Preventing Drowsy Driving Among Shift Workers Program, November 18, 2015).

The NHTSA program is designed for businesses and organizations that employ workers beyond the typical “9 to 5” workday. Program materials include a Better Sleep Video, Workplace Posters, Shift Worker Brochure, Tip Card, Employer Administrator’s Guide with PowerPoint Training Sessions, and a Brochure for Shift Work Families. The program is designed not only to help employers reduce on-the-job risks, but to improve the productivity and quality of life of their employees as well. Descriptions of the program materials are available on the NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.gov. (Source: NHTSA website, Preventing Drowsy Driving Among Shift Workers Program, November 18, 2015).

Liever, Hyman & Potter, P.C. has been representing the injured in Reading, Pottsville and throughout Pennsylvania for over 50 years.

 

From the desk of Andrew F. Fick, Esquire

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