Drowsy Drivers are Deadly

Cutting corners kills.

Thousands of people die each year when trucking companies fail to ensure that their drivers are fit to work. In an industry where hypertension, obesity and sleep disorders are rampant, too many drivers slip under the radar.

Undiagnosed sleep apnea affects commercial motor vehicle operators across the country and is regularly responsible for collisions.

What happens when tired people drive?

It’s dangerous for anyone to drive while tired. Studies have shown that drowsiness has the same effect on a person’s driving as drunkenness.

Hallmarks of tired driving include:

• Slowed reaction time
• Swerving between lanes or off the road
• Inconsistent speed
• Poor decision-making

The average person’s car weighs a few thousand pounds. What happens when a tired driver gets behind the wheel of a semi?

Picture this: 80,000 pounds of steel and aluminum, barreling down the interstate at 65 miles per hour. It’s been a long night. The driver blinks slowly, fighting sleep. One, two, three seconds pass.

By the time he snaps back to reality, it’s too late. His truck can crush a car in an instant. And the damage can’t be undone.

Truck drivers and sleep disorders

For a medical perspective on this issue, I turned to Dr. David Fletcher, medical director and CEO of SafeWorks Illinois, an organization that promotes workplace health. Dr. Fletcher has been at the forefront of large truck driver safety since 1995 and has served as an expert witness in trials across the country. We spoke about semi-driver physical fitness on episode 15 of my podcast, After the Crash.

Exhaustion plagues the roads and is especially prevalent among large truck drivers. Most truckers are men aged 45 and older, many of whom experience obesity and high blood pressure. These factors put them at higher risk for conditions like obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea: “One of the most unrecognized public health problems that exists.”

You’ve probably heard of sleep apnea, a condition that occurs when muscles around one’s throat relax and obstruct their airway while they sleep. Even if you didn’t know the name, you recognize the symptoms: a loud snore, tossing and turning at night, a dry throat, tiredness that just won’t go away.

Dr. Fletcher believes that sleep apnea is underdiagnosed in the United States. While studies show that only 5-6% of the population has sleep apnea, he estimates that 30-35% of truck drivers in the U.S. have the disorder.

“It’s one of the most unrecognized public health problems that exists,” he said.

People who suffer from sleep apnea might doze off during the day — a behavior that is deadly if a person is operating a vehicle. Uncontrollable, brief periods of sleep are known as “microsleep.” These episodes last mere seconds. A person experiencing microsleep might even look awake, although their brain activity has slowed drastically.

For people with sleep apnea, proper nighttime rest is impossible without treatment. Devices like CPAP machines use pressurized air to keep users’ airways open and restore their sleep quality. Studies have shown that losing weight, quitting smoking and changing sleeping position can also help.

Medical examinations for truck drivers

All commercial motor vehicle drivers must pass DOT (Department of Transportation) physical examinations before they can work. This is required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In theory, these exams weed out unhealthy, potentially dangerous drivers by testing:

• Hearing
• Vision
• Urine
• Blood pressure
• Lung function

But this system doesn’t always work as it should.

The physical examinations don’t have to be completed by medical doctors. Nurse practitioners, chiropractors and physician assistants — people without expertise in cardiovascular or pharmaceutical issues — are allowed to conduct them. When medical examiners don’t thoroughly assess drivers, asking probing questions about snoring, substance use, or health concerns, problems slide by.

Consequences of tired driving

Over the past 30 years, I have handled numerous serious personal injury and wrongful death cases caused by commercial motor vehicle drivers falling asleep. In each case, however, the semi or large truck driver has denied that they were asleep. They often try to blame the victim or claim defective brakes. Most of these cases are rear-end collisions. In some, the truck driver leaves the lane of travel and either crosses the median or goes off the roadway, striking other vehicles.

One such case involved a client returning from vacation. He was stopped in backed-up construction zone traffic. A semi-driver, who would later deny falling asleep, plowed into the rear of my client’s vehicle, killing him and several others. There was no evidence that the truck driver braked or took evasive action. He claimed that he was cut off and forced into the rear of the stopped vehicles.

To get to the truth, we were able to get a court order requiring that the truck driver be examined by Dr. Fletcher, who concluded that he likely had sleep apnea. We hired another expert to discuss the dangerous effects of sleep deprivation and how this driver ignored the signs and continued duty impaired.

Ways to stop the trend

With nearly 6,000 people killed in one year in truck crashes in the United States, it’s natural to be concerned about driver safety. Some trucking companies are trying to mitigate harm by creating programs and incentives. Schneider is one of them.

According to the company’s website, tired-driving incidents have improved 44% since Schneider introduced its sleep apnea program in 2006. Free supplies, including CPAP machines, are available to drivers. In the long run, investing in programs like this saves trucking companies money by preventing wrecks and wrongful death or personal injury lawsuits.

In my time representing clients who were injured or lost loved ones in large truck wrecks, I have seen the havoc wreaked by drowsy driving. My clients tell me they want to help prevent others from experiencing the tragedy they faced. In some cases, this means redirecting some of the money they receive to programs that could identify high-risk drivers before they get behind the wheel.

We can also make beneficial changes in the medical examination room. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides a national registry containing the names and employment addresses of all certified medical examiners in the country. The registry is searchable by location and name. Many healthcare professionals listed aren’t experts in issues like heart disease, which is necessary when assessing truck drivers’ health. It is crucial that medical doctors perform these exams.

Using the registry, I found that within 10 miles of Indianapolis there are 146 people with certification who are currently accepting examination requests. Only 29 — or less than 20% — of those 146 are medical doctors. The rest are nurse practitioners, advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants or doctors of chiropractic.

What do I do if I’m hit by a driver who’s asleep?

Remember, it’s dangerous for anyone to drive drowsy, regardless of how healthy they are or what kind of vehicle they drive. Make sure you’re well-rested and listen to your body when it tells you you’re tired.

If you or someone you know has been in an accident caused by a sleeping driver, reach out to my law firm, Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC, for a free consultation. We have attorneys who specialize in personal injury law and are board-certified in commercial truck accident law.

We are committed to helping folks who have been injured on the road because of someone else’s negligence. We will fight for you.

Contact us today at (317) 434-3520 or through our website.

 David W. Craig sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.