Data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles indicates there were 6,786 drowsy driving accidents across the state in the most recent reporting year. While tired drivers often try many tactics to stay awake, some end up falling asleep behind the wheel without even knowing it, a phenomenon known as “microsleep.”
Discover what you need to know about the signs and symptoms of this activity and how it can put drivers’ lives and well-being in jeopardy.
What Is Microsleep?
Microsleep occurs when someone falls asleep for just a few seconds. It is involuntary and can happen at any time of day. Drivers involved in car accidents caused by microsleep may have no idea that they were ever asleep.
Your eyes don’t always close when it happens, and you aren’t aware enough to know that your brain isn’t processing critical external information.
Still, microsleep does have several behavioral warning signs and symptoms, including:
- Head nodding or bobbing
- Zoning out for several seconds at a time
- Sudden head or body jerks
- Difficulty focusing on the road
- Inability to remember the last few seconds or minutes
When drivers display these symptoms, it is dangerous for them to stay behind the wheel.
The Causes of Microsleep
Microsleep may have several root causes, including:
- Sleep deprivation: The brain tries to overcompensate when the body doesn’t get enough sleep.
- Repetitive activities: Long drives across uneventful stretches of highways put the brain and body in a semi-sleep state.
- Irregular schedules: Shift work can disrupt the circadian rhythms, confusing the body’s sleep-wake cycle.
These causes are prominent in truck accident cases where drivers often work long hours or drive through the night. Still, they can also be an issue for everyday people who don’t get quality sleep for various reasons.
What Makes Microsleep So Dangerous?
When drivers experience microsleep, it can lead to serious consequences for themselves and others on the road.
A Lack of Predictability
Unlike your bedtime, you cannot control when and where microsleep happens. You may be on a highway driving 75 miles per hour, in stop-and-go traffic along a local street, in the grocery store parking lot, or at a red light in a major intersection. You won’t even know you’re doing it until the event passes, and just about anything can happen in those few seconds.
A Reduction in Alertness
If you’re microsleeping on the road, you may as well be driving drunk. Studies show that drivers who have been awake for 18 hours mimic the behavior of a person with a 0.05% blood alcohol level.
If you’ve been awake for 24 hours, it’s like having a BAC of 0.10, which is well above Florida’s legal limit. At that point, your judgment, decision-making, and ability to respond quickly to hazards have all been significantly compromised.
The Possibility of Fatalities
Analyses of truck driver dashcam video footage show that 75% of professional truck drivers cease body movements—a telltale sign of microsleep—before a collision attributed to drowsy driving. Once microsleep behavior begins, crashes often follow within 40 seconds.
With data from the Governors Highway Safety Association indicating an average of 6,400 fatal drowsy driving crashes occurring each year, everyone should be aware of the dangers of microsleep.
Contact Our Miami Car Accident Lawyers at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for Help After a Drowsy Driving Crash
Microsleep may only last for a few seconds, but the consequences can last a lifetime. Even if the truck or car accident isn’t fatal, it can result in devastating injuries that significantly alter your quality of life and require costly treatment and missed work.
Our Miami car accident attorneys can sort through the details of your personal injury case, help you determine fair compensation, and advise you on all possible avenues to pursue it. If the other party or insurance company tries to deny responsibility or get you to accept less, your lawyer can advocate for the best possible outcome.
Call Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation.
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Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys
169 E Flagler St Suite 1639, Miami, FL 33131
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