Georgia residents and others who use ridesharing services may need to watch out for tired or fatigued drivers. This is according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Drivers tend to work after being awake for long periods of time, and it may not be possible to check for health issues a driver may have. In some cases, the drivers are compelled to keep driving because of low hourly or per trip wages.
The AASM also claims that some drivers offer rides while tired because they don’t understand the importance of sleep. Uber and Lyft have tried to curtail drowsy driving by imposing hours of service limits. Those who drive for either company must log out for six hours after spending 12 hours driving for Uber and after 14 for Lyft. However, these limits may not do enough to do away with drowsy rideshare drivers.
This is because those individuals may work other jobs between spending time giving rides for money. They may also work for multiple rideshare companies, which means that they could be getting around the rules. Those who use rideshare services are encouraged to be more aware of who their driver is and if that person is showing signs of fatigue. Data indicates that there are 328,000 crashes caused each year by a drowsy driver.
If motor vehicle accidents are caused by drowsy drivers, accident victims might be entitled to compensation. This is because drowsy driving is generally considered to be negligent driving. Compensation may come in the form of reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages. Lost future earnings may be part of any financial award that an individual receives. An attorney may help gather evidence of drowsy driving such as witness or driver statements or information in a police report.
