The Hazards of Colorado Springs Car Driver Fatigue

Written by Jeremy D. Earle, JD

April 3, 2023

Experienced Colorado Springs Car Accident Attorneys

A large number of folks claim to feel tired or even fall asleep while driving. Many drivers will go behind the wheel while being tired, despite the hazards of driving when tired. Fatigue is frequently a factor in significant accidents resulting in serious injuries for Colorado Springs drivers and passengers.

WHY ARE COLORADO SPRINGS DRIVERS AT SUCH A HIGH RISK OF FATIGUE?

For various reasons, Colorado Springs drivers may experience high levels of tiredness—and, in certain situations, increased overall hazards as a consequence of weariness on the roadways.

DRIVERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS EXPERIENCE EXTENDED TRAVEL TIMES.

While many Colorado Springs professionals, like many others around the country, have shifted to more remote work in the last year and a half, commute times in Colorado Springs may still be exhausting.

Workers in Colorado Springs often travel in from outside the city. The typical travel time for these drivers is roughly 40 minutes or more each way. That translates to a lot of time on the road and, perhaps, increased weariness, particularly if commuters work overtime to have more time to themselves despite heavy workdays.

Drivers may have to battle with greater traffic on the highways during their travels due to the lengthy commute hours, making it the worst time of day to succumb to weariness.

Colorado Springs motorists experience some of the worst traffic congestion in the country.

For many years, Colorado Springs has had some of the worst traffic congestion of any city in the United States. For years, travel time delays have been a source of danger and snarls.

While the governor of Massachusetts intends to alleviate traffic congestion whenever feasible, many routes just have more cars than they can fairly accommodate.

Many drivers may get fatigued as a result of traffic congestion. Driving in congested areas may be stressful. However, many drivers may get progressively tired, worn out, and exhausted when traffic moves little, if at all.

 

They may lose concentration behind the wheel and have difficulty paying attention to what is happening around them. To counteract the exhaustion, they may become more preoccupied.

Colorado Springs boasts a vibrant nightlife, with a variety of clubs and pubs open until the wee hours of the morning.

As people relocate into the city or visit for vacation, a vibrant nightlife may be a powerful appeal.

While some individuals flourish late at night, the great majority of people are more aware and awake throughout the day. Even if they have a healthy blood alcohol level, those enjoying Colorado Springs’ nightlife may be more inclined to drink, increasing the overall risk of weariness.

When drivers get behind the wheel late at night, especially after enjoying many of the exciting activities offered around the Colorado Springs region, they may be more likely to fall asleep or suffer from high levels of general exhaustion.

TO GET ABOUT, MANY COLORADO SPRINGS RESIDENTS USE UBER, LYFT, TAXIS, AND PUBLIC TRANSIT.

Colorado Springs has one of the lowest percentages of car ownership in the country. Colorado Springs has a robust public transit system, making it simpler for locals to move about the city—and, in many instances, avoiding some of the city’s most crowded highways during peak hours. Because many Colorado Springs residents do not own cars, several ridesharing businesses and professional drivers can operate in the city.

When they don’t want to utilise public transit, many Colorado Springs residents use Uber, Lyft, and taxis to get about. This is especially true if they want to go out during a calmer time of the day.

On the other hand, professional drivers often spend a significant amount of time on the road each day. They may wind up driving despite weariness or sickness to make a livelihood. On slower days, Uber and Lyft drivers may opt to work longer hours to earn more money, resulting in higher overall weariness.

COLORADO SPRINGS HAS A LOT OF TWISTY ROADWAYS, WHICH MIGHT PUT TIRED DRIVERS IN DANGER.

Drivers face greater hazards on curving roads than they do on straighter highways. To keep their cars safe on the road, they may need to exert greater control over them. On the other hand, Fatigued drivers may lack the abilities necessary to navigate such routes safely and prevent possible accidents.

 

BAD WEATHER MIGHT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN ACCIDENT.

Colorado Springs receives an estimated 48 inches of snow per year. Temperatures in January may drop to as low as 19 degrees, resulting in frozen roads, snow, and ice everywhere. While drivers in Colorado Springs rapidly learn how to manoeuvre in a range of weather situations, weary drivers have difficulty keeping their cars under control. Drivers may have major accidents on snow and ice as they get progressively sleepy behind the wheel.

THE RISKS OF DRIVING WHILE TIRED

Most drivers are aware that driving when tired is dangerous. Still, they may not understand how dangerous it is—driving when severely tired may produce many of the same symptoms as driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

As tiredness levels grow, drivers may find it difficult to maintain safe car control. When fatigued drivers opt to go behind the wheel, they put themselves and others in danger.

TUNNEL VISION MAY BE A PROBLEM FOR TIRED DRIVERS.

Tunnel vision is common among weary drivers, just as it is among intoxicated drivers. While they may be able to focus on what is happening immediately in front of them on the road, they may struggle to maintain track of what is happening elsewhere.

If a person walks off the sidewalk and a car drives away from a stop sign without slowing down, or if a car turns in front of the pedestrian, tired drivers may not see the danger. Fatigued drivers may have difficulty changing lanes or negotiating turns because they cannot transfer their attention to other regions of the car.

TIRED DRIVERS GENERALLY HAVE DELAYED RESPONSE TIMES.

When driving, quick response times are required to handle possible risks and limit the likelihood of an accident. Unfortunately, tired drivers may be unable to respond effectively in the event of an accident.

Milliseconds may make a big impact on an car. Someone slams on their brakes in front of you, walk in front of your car, or switches lanes and slows down. You may just have a split second to respond to avoid an accident.

Unfortunately, tired drivers may not have the response times necessary to manage such scenarios and prevent a serious crash.

TIRED DRIVERS HAVE A HARD TIME KEEPING THEIR CARS UNDER CONTROL.

 

Fatigued drivers may struggle to manage their cars on the road, in addition to having slower response times. Fatigued drivers often stray from their designated lanes, perhaps resulting in a head-on collision with opposing traffic or a sideswipe accident with another car driving in the same direction.

Drivers may not have enough space to rectify before causing a major accident on Colorado Springs’ congested roadways.

In addition, Colorado Springs has a wide network of bike lanes that run throughout the city. Bicycles are given around five feet of road space in such bike lanes. A drowsy motorist who drifts into a bike lane may cause catastrophic injury to cyclists using the lane, especially when riders lack the requisite speed and manoeuvrability to prevent a major crash.

TIRED DRIVERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS.

Fatigue may make your brain feel virtually drunk, and it can have the same effect on your decision-making skills as a drink. Tired drivers are more prone to make poor judgments on the road.

Fatigued drivers, for example, may underestimate the amount of space required to safely change lanes or make a turn. They may believe they have enough space to pull out into traffic, only to find that another car has already closed upon them.

When you’re tired, you’re more likely to make stupid decisions. To get to their destinations sooner, tired drivers may opt to speed or break the laws of the road. Drivers may want to limit the amount of time they spend behind the wheel, but they may wind up causing a major accident due to their failure to exercise proper caution.

TIRED DRIVERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO FORGET CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THEIR JOURNEY.

Most individuals have experienced road haze or disassociation at some point during their travels, which leads them to forget a portion of their journey. Tired drivers, on the other hand, may have little recollection of their travels. They may find themselves in unfamiliar territory after making judgments they don’t recall behind the wheel.

Fatigued drivers may find it tough to figure out how to get home. Drivers may find it difficult to recollect which sections of the road they have previously travelled or to recall other exchanges that happened throughout the trip due to their memory loss.

DRIVER WEARINESS MAY EXACERBATE THE DANGERS OF TYPICAL DISTRACTIONS WHILE BEHIND THE WHEEL.

 

Although it is against the law, many Colorado Springs drivers may drive while distracted. They may be on the phone, navigating with a GPS gadget, or just eating or drinking while driving.

To stay awake, drivers would sometimes participate in additional distractions, such as changing radio stations, conversing loudly with a companion, or eating and drinking while driving.

These distractions may not only offer hazards in and of themselves, but they may also exacerbate the perils of driving when tired. Tired drivers may have an even harder time dividing their focus between driving and other work than normal. Depending on the job, drivers’ attention may be drawn away from the road and onto the other task, increasing the chance of a major accident.

DRIVERS MAY FALL ASLEEP BEHIND THE WHEEL.

While driving, tired drivers may have microsleeps or short sleep episodes. Microsleeps may last anywhere from a fraction of a second and 30 seconds. The longer a motorist is micro sleeping, the longer his or her attention is diverted from the road, and the greater the likelihood of an accident.

In the worst-case scenario, a tired motorist may fall asleep at the wheel, not merely drifting off and snap awake seconds later but genuinely falling asleep. When a driver falls asleep at the wheel, the car has no one to manage it, which means it might careen out of control with no way to stop it, resulting in a severe accident.

Because the driver has little control over the car, other drivers cannot anticipate his or her actions. Because the driver’s foot is normally on the gas, the car will not slow down and may instead slam into the closest object at full speed.

Because these sorts of accidents frequently entail far higher power than other types of accidents, accidents involving drivers who have fallen asleep behind the wheel may result in serious, sometimes life-altering injuries.

If you are injured in a car accident in Colorado Springs caused by a tired driver, you may be able to file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for your losses. Do not attempt to handle your claim alone. An expert Colorado Springs car accident lawyer can assist you in investigating your claim and accident, as well as provide you with further information regarding your eligibility to submit a claim.

Warrior Car Accident Lawyers

1902 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 100

Colorado Springs, CO 80904

719-300-1100

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