According to a report by ABC News, a study conducted by a U.K.-based car insurance company, Young Marmalade, and Cardiff University in Wales reveals the possible danger of driving when sick with the cold or flu. The study shows that driving while sick may present the same dangers as drunk driving. Since there are dangers of driving with a cold, it is best to stay home. The motor safety experts behind the study found that the driving skills of motorists dropped by about 50 percent while they were ill as compared to healthy drivers. The experts also determined that sickly drivers were more likely to have reduced reaction times and a major loss of concentration, so much so that the researchers compared it to the effects of “driving under the influence of four double whiskeys.”
Tennessee Auto AccidentThough neither group disclosed the full study to review, making it difficult to draw any clear conclusions, a Young Marmalade marketing director states the study serves as a warning to all drivers that being behind the wheel with a cold can impair “a driver’s mood, concentration, and judgment.” There are no official statistics on cold or flu-related motor vehicle accidents, but Americans experience an estimated 500 million colds per year and approximately 90 percent of people in the U.S. are on the roads each day. Basically, this means an estimated 1 million Americans might be driving with a cold on any given day.
Whether or not the effects of driving while sick are similar to driving while intoxicated, motorists who may feel drowsy or under the weather should exercise caution when behind the wheel to avoid a potentially dangerous accident. Though you might take necessary safety precautions, other drivers may not, which puts the lives of everyone around them at risk. The Tennessee auto accident attorneys with Massey & Associates, P.C. can help you receive compensation for your injuries if a crash occurred as the result of another’s negligence. Call (423) 396-0720 for a free review of your case.
Gary Massey, Jr., is a well-known courtroom advocate practicing law in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gary is a native of Tennessee who began practicing law in 1998. He graduated from Cumberland School of Law where he was ranked in the top 3% of his class and was an editor of the Cumberland Law Review.
