Let’s imagine a couple scenarios. In the first one, let’s imagine a woman is stumbling a little as she leaves a bar after having several drinks. She gets in her car, drives out onto the road and smashes into car after running a red light.

In another scenario, let’s imagine a young student driving home from class. He is just about to get off the highway when his cellphone buzzes. He reaches for it, sees he has a text and while reading the text, he drifts out of his lane on the highway and smashes head-on into another vehicle. In both these scenarios, the resulting accident may not seem like a big surprise. However, let’s imagine a third scenario.

In this one, let’s imagine a man who is tired. He could be a shift worker, work two jobs or maybe he just hasn’t been sleeping well lately. In fact, over the past few days, he has only had a few hours of sleep here and there. He gets in his car to run errands, but his focus starts slipping and his eyes close. In the next second, he wakes up to realize he has struck a pedestrian.

This last scenario ends much the same as the first two. However, many people would not consider drowsiness to be as dangerous as being drunk or distracted behind the wheel.

But did you know that according to estimates, roughly 100,000 accidents are caused by drowsy drivers every year?

The fact that people underestimate the damage that can be done by a drowsy or fatigued driver is raising concerns across the U.S. States are considering legislation to prohibit driving without adequate rest and advocacy groups are considering campaigns to raise awareness of this problem in much the same way they addressed drunk and distracted driving.

Unfortunately, the problem of drowsy driving is one that is not easily solved, and people all across Tampa are at risk of sharing the road with and getting hurt by a driver who is impaired by sleepiness.

While there may not be laws preventing this behavior or a catchy slogan to use when talking about drowsy driving, there is something you can do. Victims of drowsy driving accidents have the option to take legal action against these drivers, much like you would take against a drunk or distracted driver.