Fatal car accidents involving teens often sleep-related

Many people in New York and elsewhere believe that teenagers are involved in car accidents more often than older drivers because they lack experience behind the wheel. While lack of experience certainly may contribute to some collisions, it is not the main reason so many teenagers are involved in fatal car accidents. According to a recently released study, sleep, or at least the lack of it, plays a significant role in numerous teen-involved auto collisions.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teenagers need to get a good eight to 10 hours of sleep every night in order to function properly during daylight hours. Unfortunately, many teens do not get the recommended amount of rest. School, work, social lives, sports and various other extracurricular activities keep this age group up and running from early in the morning until very late at night.

Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital recently released a study on this issue. According to the study, delaying school start times until at least 8:30 a.m. greatly reduced the number of fatal and non-fatal car accidents involving teenagers in the study area. Why? Getting more sleep helps teenagers make better decisions when behind the wheel — such as being sure to wear seat belts and not looking at or using their cell phones while driving.

Fatal car accidents involving teens are a big deal. Not only are teens losing their lives in such incidents every day, but numerous others also end up suffering injuries or worse in these collisions. When teen-involved accidents occur in New York, victims of these incidents or their loved ones may find it a struggle to achieve compensation for their losses. Legal counsel can assist those who need assistance fighting their own insurance providers for fair coverage or those whose cases may benefit from filing claims against the party or parties believed to be responsible for their losses.