In conjunction with National Sleep Awareness Week last week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has once again issued its commitment to improving highway safety by eliminating fatique-related auto, truck, bus and airline accidents.

According to NTSB Board Member Deborah Hersman,

“Fatigue in transportation presents unnecessary risks to the traveling public. Fatigue can impair a person behind the wheel or at the helm much like alcohol or other drugs. We must ensure that as much as possible is being done to protect our transportation system from the insidious effect of human fatigue.”

For a long time now the NTSB has included fatique and hours-of-service on their Most Wanted List of highway safety improvements.  It is the intent of the Board to continue to work with all members of the transportation industry to study the effects of fatique, rest requirements and driver alertness to prevent future injuries and death.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the one year long investigation of a seventy car pile up results in 12 tickets for careless driving.  The incident occurred on January 8, 2008, on Interstate 4 in Polk County between County Road 557 and State Road 559.  Five people were killed in the incident. 

The Florida Highway Patrol just concluded its investigation of more than a dozen crashes involved in the incident.  Smoke from a controlled fire by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission the day before made worse by a shift in the winds covered the roadway and made it extremely difficult to see.  The traffic citations were issues because the FHP investigation showed the drivers failed to drive their vehicles in a careful and prudent manner given the road conditions. 

As Central Florida’s auto accident attorneys, we are currently handling cases related to this incident.  If you or someone you know has been injured in this incident, you should have experienced attorneys who have investigated this incident working for you.  Contact one of our attorneys for a free consultation. 

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there were 27 deaths on Florida’s highways due to auto accidents during the three day Memorial Day week-end.  Nineteen of those 27 fatalities were reportedly not wearing their seatbelts. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that when front seat passengers use the lap/shoulder seatbelts, the risk of death in an auto accident drops by 45% and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury drops by 50%.  Florida has had a Child Restraint Law since 1982 and a Safety Belt Law since 1986 and Florida Highway Patrol continues to enforce the law and promote seat belt usage for everyone in the vehicle.  But according to NHTSA’s statistics for 2007, seat belt usage dropped in Florida by 8% while the nation as a whole increased by 7%.

The statistics prove the seat belts save lives, but some individuals either refuse to believe it, or think it will never happen to them.  One can only hope that Floridians will do better in 2008.