There are always accidents involving drivers asleep at the wheel. This type of accident, often labeled as "inattentive driving," is getting new attention because of a recent video that went viral. In this video, both the driver and the passenger were asleep in a self-driving car, which is both astounding and frightening.
There is much ado about automated cars being the wave of the future, and about people using automated vehicles as a means to get them somewhere while they sleep. Rest assured (no pun intended) that fully automated vehicles are not here yet, and the vehicles that can drive themselves are only allowed to do so for a few seconds at a time. Drivers have to reengage the wheel once every minute, or the car intentionally slows down and stops to prevent accidents. Still, that does not mean that falling asleep behind the wheel will not be a problem. Here is what happens now when a driver causes an accident by falling asleep.
The Driver Is Ticketed and Fined (at the Very Least)
Inattentive driving is still inattentive driving, no matter what vehicle you drive and no matter whether you were fully asleep or not. The police will ticket and fine you for it, and most states will also dock points from your license when you are caught at the scene of an accident admitting to sleeping. If you injured or killed someone because of snoozing behind the wheel, you may even be arrested for vehicular assault or vehicular manslaughter because you used your car to cause harm to someone else.
Lawsuits Galore
Drivers who nod off and cause harmful accidents can always expect to be sued. If the drivers causing these accidents are not sued, that is very surprising indeed. In cases where vehicle malfunction may play a part, then those injured may sue the company. Those that were in the vehicle with the malfunction may also sue the car manufacturer as a result of what happened.
Car insurance companies can look forward to lawsuits as well. The driver who caused the accident will probably have his or her insurance sue the victim's insurance for various reasons, while the victim's vehicle insurance will try to sue the driver's insurance. If you are a victim in such a case, you should sue the other driver and any pertinent parties your auto accident attorney advises you to sue.
For more information, call an auto accident attorney in your area.
The world is a crazy place, and you never know when you will be faced with an uphill legal battle. I didn't used to feel like I was at a high risk for being sued, but after dealing with various business concerns, I could tell that I needed to procure an attorney. I was faced with a few problems such as managing my employees and dealing with a pending lawsuit, and I didn't know what to do or how to go about managing various issues. Fortunately, my lawyer understood what we needed to do to work things out, and we managed things appropriately. On this website, find out how to identify your rights and take care of business.