As New Haven auto accident attorneys, we see accidents of all circumstances, including those involving a drowsy driver. Drowsy driving is when a motorist operates their vehicle under the impairment of being tired. Research shows that 24% of those who are tired while driving in urban areas (like New Haven) are more likely to doze off while driving. This same research shows that drowsy driving crashes are more likely to take place between 4-6 a.m. with nearly a quarter of adults saying they know someone who has had an accident because they were tired. If you are driving on the highway and suspect that another motorist on the road is driving while drowsy, here are some ways to know that another driver might be drowsy: Drifting across highway lanes. Missed signs or exits. Excessive hitting of rumble strips. If you are driving along the highway and believe a driver might be drowsy, you Read the full article…

The week of November 3-10, 2019 is drowsy driving prevention week. Drowsy driving is when a driver gets behind the wheel feeling tired and it has not garnered as much attention as drunk driving or distracted driving because is it challenging to diagnose as the cause of New Haven auto accidents. The the National Highway Transportation & Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that between 2009 and 2013, 72,000 accidents were cited as being caused by drowsy driving with 41,000 injuries and 800 deaths. Drowsy driving has a similar effect on the body as drunk driving. Someone who is awake for 18 hours, is operating a vehicle at the equivalent of a 0.05% blood alcohol level. At 21 hours, it is 0.08% which is an illegal level in every state, according to the report. The AAA Foundation survey found that one-third of all drivers reported driving even though they had trouble keeping their Read the full article…

This past weekend we turned our clocks back one hour and return to standard time. New studies suggest that the end of Daylight Savings Time could lead to more New Haven auto accidents and other injuries. With the switch to Standard Time, comes an increase in darkness around rush hour when drivers aren’t used to the darkness (nor are pedestrians). Pedestrians are nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars in the days following the end of daylight saving time than just before the time change when walking around at dusk. A study of seven years of nationwide traffic fatalities was conducted at Carnegie Mellon University, calculating the risk per mile walked for pedestrians. The study found that the per-mile risk jumps 186 percent from October to November. Fatigue is also an issue that affect most people this time of year as time is needed to readjust sleep. If you or Read the full article…

We have all heard of driving while intoxicated – it is illegal in the State of Connecticut as well as being highly dangerous not only for yourself and your passengers, but for all other motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists you share the road with. In conjunction with many police departments across the state cracking down on distracted driving this month in the “U Drive U Text U Pay” enforcement campaign, AAA release a PSA on driving “intexticated.”  Distracted driving causes New Haven auto accidents and accounts for an average of nine deaths per day nationwide. View AAA’s PSA here. Staying focused on the road will help keep you and other drivers safe. This is especially imperative for those with teen drivers, who are inexperienced with driving and have a higher incidence of being distracted. We all need a reminder every so often to put down the phone or not eat while driving, because the safety Read the full article…