Fatigued drivers cause many of the fatal car accidents that take place on California highways. On Jan. 13, the issue of fatigue-related crashes was brought up at the Transportation Research Board meeting. The National Transportation Safety Board listed reducing car accidents involving sleep-deprived drivers as one of the top 10 safety issues that it was concerned with for 2016.
The NTSB’s annual list of ‘most wanted” safety improvements included several other new issues for 2016 as well as some holdovers from 2015. One of them that made the list was the promotion of collision-avoidance technologies for passenger and commercial motor vehicles. The NTSB was also concerned with improving railroad safety and strengthening protections for vehicle occupants.
Deborah A.P. Hersman, the president and CEO of the National Safety Council, said that she was pleased collision-avoidance technologies were included in the NTSB’s wanted list. Hersman said that although modern cars are getting safer and smarter than cars have ever been, approximately 35,000 people still die in car accidents every year. The NTSB’s ‘most wanted” list is a guide for reducing the number of car accident deaths to zero, according to Hersman.
When a car accident is caused by a driver’s negligent or reckless actions, the victims may want to sue the at-fault driver for financial compensation. A lawyer may be of assistance to people who are putting together a car accident claim. After assessing the details of the car accident, a lawyer may help the crash victims to gather evidence to prove the at-fault driver’s liability and demonstrate the full extent of damages.