A new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) has revealed that driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of motor-vehicle accidents, reports The Legal Examiner.
The study looked at 100 vehicles installed with sensors that monitored signs of a driver’s fatigue, including nodding off, varying speed for no clear reason, yawning, micro sleep (when the driver’s eyes close and then open quickly), drifting out of the designated lane, and witnessing objects “jumping out” in the road.
One of the first studies of its kind, it looked to examine a driver’s behavior moments before a crash. The collected data revealed that about 20 percent of all motor-vehicle accidents and 16 percent of near misses are caused by a driver who is suffering from tiredness or fatigue. Notably, most of the accidents were found to have occurred in the mid afternoon and early morning hours instead of late evening.
Following in the footsteps of VTTI’s study, the Strategic Highway Research Program is carrying out a similar experiment by looking at 2000 vehicles and attempting to determine more tangibly the role fatigue plays in car accidents.
We would like to remind Virginia residents that driving while fatigued or tired puts yourself and your passengers at needless risk. Tiredness works to slow reaction time and information processing, and decreases your awareness of your surroundings.
If you have been injured in a car accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, contact the Virginia car accident lawyer who will fight for your fair compensation. Call us today at 703-906-4229 or send us an email and tell us about your case.
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