| Jul 03 |
Asleep at the wheel is no excuse for traffic fatalityby Bruce Westbrook
A Houston Police officer is dead and another is seriously injured reportedly because another man failed to heed that “don’t.” The man, Hung Truong, says he worked a 12-hour shift starting at 5 p.m. last Saturday, June 28, and ending at 5 a.m. Sunday, June 29. Soon after that, his vehicle reportedly slammed into barricades at a road construction site at the Katy Freeway and Highway 6. The out of control vehicle hit and killed Officer Gary Gryder, 47, a 25-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, and seriously injured Officer Joe Pyland. Both were working the site off-duty to assist in traffic safety. Truong says he was tired and fell asleep at the wheel. Now he’s in jail and is charged with manslaughter for a traffic fatality. Granted, not everyone can work an eight-hour shift which ends in daylight. Some people must work long shifts which end in darkness, and then must drive home. But given such a schedule, would such drivers be so tired and sleep-desperate if they’d gotten proper rest before their shift began? Or do many of them even consider taking such a precaution? Drivers who are tired, sleep-deprived and on the verge of sleep are among the biggest threats on America’s roads. Even if a driver doesn’t fall asleep at the wheel, sheer driver fatigue can be a big factor in many accidents. Lack of sleep impairs concentration, and a lack of concentration – whether from fatigue, drinking too much or dialing a cell phone – is a major cause of many fatal car accidents. So don’t – don’t drive if you’re so tired that you’re busier counting sheep than counting the car-lengths between you and the vehicle in front, to ensure you’re not following too closely. And if you must drive after a long work day, be sure to get extra rest on the front end, so you won’t be weary to the point of sleeping – and killing – when that day is done. If you or a loved one has suffered at the hands of a driver who fell asleep at the wheel, a Houston personal injury lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates can help. This firm’s lawyers know when don’t means don’t. 2 Responses to “Asleep at the wheel is no excuse for traffic fatality”Leave a Reply |
Proper, safe driving is filled with many “don’ts,” and perhaps the most familiar is “Don’t drink and drive.” But here’s another “don’t” worth filing away in your cranium and heeding forevermore: “Don’t drive if you’re about to fall asleep,” because falling asleep at the wheel is no excuse for the nightmare of traffic tragedies.
I agree with this…but wonder how it can be avoided? I used to routinely fall asleep at the wheel but I got as much sleep as I possibly could get…and I had to work! I tried to work closer to home but minimum wage was the best I could hope for.
And now my husband is in this same situation, sometimes working 18 +hours and then expected to drive 56 miles home and back again in a few hours time. He drinks lots of caffeine when he gets up in the morning (4 AM) and again before he leaves from work but he still struggles to stay awake. sadly the job situations right now do not afford one to work close to home and god hours a lot of the time.
My poor brother in law has the same issue- he also drives over 100 miles a day and has to be at work 12 + hours a day. His job is also physically taxing.
I agree that driving while so tired you have trouble staying awake is dangerous and no amount of money is worth loosing your life or killing someone else, but working two jobs closer to home to make comparable pay to working the one job far away is not going to solve the problem either!! You’ll still be driving while exhausted.
Sarah:
You raise some very good points, and you surely face a dilemma. Is there any way you or your loved ones can work more closely to the place where you live? Those long drives after overlong days of work are really asking too much. There’s really no way you can force yourself to stay awake and alert when you are extremely tired, yet you must be awake and alert to avoid injuring yourself or someone else on the roads. Again, it’s a dilemma. All the best to you.
– Bruce