New Campaign Will Target Drowsy Driving

Federal and California state administrations have made great strides in reducing drunk driving, and even distracted driving through the use of stronger legislation, enforcement initiatives, and awareness campaigns. However, the risks of drowsy driving have been ignored. One reason for this is that there is very limited research on these risks, and how to prevent these.

Now the federal administration has decided to spotlight the dangers of drowsy driving, and has launched a new campaign that will specifically focus on increasing public awareness about drowsy driving. It is a challenging task. For one thing, it isn’t easy to measure drowsiness at the scene of an accident. It is not possible to tell whether a person was driving while sleepy at the scene.

That is in sharp contrast to a drunk driving accident, in which you can administer a test that will immediately help you determine if the person was driving under the influence of alcohol. Even when a person is in a distracted driving accident, it is possible to recover the cell phone records of the other motorist at the accident scene to determine whether texting was a factor in the crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the campaign will focus on developing strategies that will target those motorists who are especially vulnerable to the dangers of drowsy driving. For instance, senior citizens are at a higher risk of drowsy driving, because they may be under the influence of more than one medication. The agency will also look more closely at technologies like lane departure warning systems. These technologies have a great role to play in helping prevent drowsy driving. One of the first signs of drowsy driving is that your car begins to move from your lane frequently. A lane departure warning system will alert you when you are dozing off at the wheel, and when your car begins to veer off from the lane, possibly averting an accident.

For help filing a car accident claim, call a Burbank car accident attorney.