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Drowsy driving is a serious threat to drivers on the roads—and it’s a problem that law enforcement officials can do little to detect. Unlike drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drivers who have not had enough sleep cannot take a breathalyzer or submit a urine sample to indicate their levels of distraction. But driving when you are tired has led to over 11,000 deaths in the last ten years, according to Naples personal injury lawyers.

Sleepy drivers are often reluctant to admit that they have gotten behind the wheel in such a state of deprivation. For this reason, several states have enacted strict laws that limit the number of hours that hired drivers can spend on the road in one day. However, truck drivers and other transportation employees have been able to circumvent these regulations by simply not reporting their hours accurately, and ordinary drivers who are not paid to be on the road do not have a similar reporting system.

In Florida, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation have programs to educate both the police officers who patrol the roads and the drivers on them about the dangers of driving while fatigued. These programs offer evidence that going without sleep is as crippling to a driver as having too many cocktails before driving.

Also in Florida, the Ronshay Dugan Act is a step in the right direction towards keeping the roads safe from distracted drivers. Memorializing the eight-year-old boy who was killed in 2008 when the sleep-deprived driver of a cement truck smashed into a Boys and Girls Club bus, the Act is an effort to keep the general population informed about the dangers of drowsy driving, including an awareness campaign nicknamed “You Snooze, You Lose.” The Act also circulates statistics and data regarding the phenomenon, trying to get drivers to recognize the similarities between drugs and drowsiness.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drivers can resort to a few preventative measures for keeping fatigue from affecting their driving. Refreshing energy by having two cups of coffee, combined with a 20-minute nap, can help, as can playing loud music and driving with the windows down. But the best way to avoid the dangers of being tired while driving is to get regular rest. Sleeping for at least 8 hours every night can keep drivers alert and focused.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that almost 40 percent of adult drivers in the country have drifted off or fallen asleep while on the road at least once in the past month, and that statistic emphasizes just how common the problem is. Without the stigmas attached to drug use and overindulging in alcohol, driving without proper sleep is often ignored as a danger to everyone on the road.

At the Florida-based Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, PA, the expert Naples personal injury lawyers represent anyone who has been injured as a result of distracted driving caused by drunken or drowsy drivers.