While it is good to be dedicated to your job, it can become a problem if you start to suffer from exhaustion. Fatigue from overwork or a lack of sleep has been cited as a factor in as much as twenty percent of all motor vehicle accidents, and is also a major contributor to on-the-job accidents. Here are five reasons exhaustion is so often seen in accidents, whether at work, on the road, or elsewhere:
- Exhaustion makes people more distractible
- One major reason that exhaustion is so dangerous is that it makes people more easily distracted, meaning they do not always notice potential hazards. It also makes it more likely that they will get careless and forget some essential safety measure that could prevent an accident. The result of this distractedness is that the risk of a serious accident goes up, even for more typically cautious people.
- Exhaustion can delay people’s reaction times
- Fatigue does not just affect people mentally, however. It also has a physical effect on people’s reaction times, causing them to react more slowly even when they notice a potential hazard in time. This delayed reaction time may make it harder to stop or avoid danger, increasing the risk of serious injury or death as a result of an accident.
- Exhaustion can make people more irritable
- The emotional effect of exhaustion should also not be underestimated. It should not be a surprise to anyone that being tired makes people cranky, but that increased irritability and stress has a real impact on people’s behavior. When people are angry, they are more likely to act aggressively or engage in reckless behavior they might not do otherwise, which makes it more likely they will wind up in an accident.
- Exhausted people are more likely to doze off
- At the end of the day, there’s only so much that caffeine and willpower can do to stave off the effects of exhaustion. When people do not get enough rest for long enough, their bodies may choose to simply deal with the issue and force them to fall asleep, possibly at an inopportune time. When people doze off, especially when doing something like driving, they significantly increase the risk of an accident.
- Exhaustion can compound other risk factors
- Finally, there is the simple fact that exhaustion makes it harder to deal with other issues that can make accidents more likely. Inclement weather, poorly maintained equipment, and a lack of essential safety gear are also major contributors to accidents of all types, but they all become that much worse when the people involved are tired. That is why you should always try to make sure you get enough rest, for both your safety and the safety of the people around you.
If you or a loved one have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you should seek out the personal injury lawyers at Zlotolow & Associates. Our seasoned New York personal injury attorneys bring more than two decades of trial experience to your case. We serve all five boroughs of New York City, as well as Nassau and Suffolk County. Our aggressive personal injury attorneys always demand maximum compensation. We have helped thousands of clients recover through settlements and courtroom verdicts. To schedule a consultation, you can call us at 866-800-0092, or you can visit our contact page.
