Sleep deprivation has serious effects on the body. It can cause impaired motor function, slower reaction times and impaired decision making. Drivers who are sleep deprived are in an especially dangerous situation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study of high school students and their sleep habits. The CDC found that teens who did not get enough sleep are more likely to engage in risky behavior, including driving drunk.
According to the study, teens who sleep five or six hours a night are two times as likely as teens who get a full night’s sleep to drive drunk. This is alarming, as sleep deprivation in teenagers has been called an epidemic by researchers at Stanford University.
The consequences of drunk driving accidents
When teens are drunk drivers, drowsy drivers or distracted drivers, the likelihood that they will be in a car accident increases. This can be tragic for their families as well as for other drivers on the road.
Drunk driving accidents tend to be very serious. People who drive drunk often drive too fast, swerve into other lanes, run cars off of the road, and miss or ignore traffic signals. They often cause head-on collisions, T-bone collisions and rollovers. These types of accidents typically result in catastrophic or fatal injuries.
If you suffer injuries due to a drunk driver, you will need compensation for your medical expenses, lost income and benefits, and pain and suffering. In most cases, injury victims who work with a lawyer recover more compensation than those who do not. Insurance companies do not routinely pay sufficient compensation when a claimant does not have representation.
Drunk driving accident victims may need multiple surgeries, cosmetic procedures, rehabilitative therapy, pain management and long-term medical care. Make sure you and your family get the compensation you need to cover your losses.
