Drowsy Driving Accidents

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Drowsy Driving Accidents

Drowsy drivers are a serious safety problem on North Carolina and South Carolina roads and across the nation. Many drivers admit to having driven while tired, and more than a third say they have fallen asleep at the wheel, according to a National Sleep Foundation survey. Drowsiness impairs a driver’s decision-making ability and slows reaction time, stealing the precious seconds a driver has to avoid a collision.

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Reach out to a North Carolina Car Accident Attorney

A contributing factor to many serious car accidents is driver fatigue or an accumulated sleep deficit. Men are more likely than women to drive drowsy and nearly twice as likely to fall asleep behind the wheel.

A serious accident caused by a drowsy driver can be devastating to a family that loses a loved one or is saddled with thousands of dollars of unanticipated medical bills due to a catastrophic injury. Your family does not have to carry that burden by itself. Let an experienced North Carolina or South Carolina accident attorney at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor deal with the at-fault driver’s insurance company and help you obtain the financial compensation to move forward after a serious accident. We work aggressively to help our clients recover from accidents.

For an attorney that investigates all the possible causes of an accident, call (800) 351-3008.

Drowsy Driving Cause 6 Percent of Crashes, AAA Estimates

According to data from the National Safety Council, traffic deaths are up significantly in North Carolina and South Carolina in 2015. Traffic deaths in North Carolina went up 19 percent in just the first half of 2015. In South Carolina, fatal accidents have increased by 21 percent during the first half of the year.
Drowsy driving contributes to many accidents and is likely a more severe problem than even official government traffic statistics reflect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a 2014 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic, researchers analyzed data from a representative sample of more than 14,200 crashes from 2009 through 2013 where a car was towed from the accident scene to look for indications that drowsy driving was a factor. They estimated that a drowsy driver was involved in:

  • 6 percent of all crashes analyzed
  • 7 percent of crashes in which a person was treated for injuries
  • 13 percent of crashes in which a person was hospitalized
  • 21 percent of fatal accidents

Those totals were higher than government estimates and suggest that drowsy driving is a bigger issue than previously believed.
Applying those percentages to all crashes nationwide would mean that drowsy drivers are involved in 109,000 crashes that cause injuries and 6,400 fatal accidents a year.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults sleep for a duration of 7 to 9 hours per day and teenagers log 8 to 10 hours of sleep to be appropriately rested. Unfortunately, many people get behind the wheel of a vehicle when they have had too little rest, drinking alcohol, or taking sedating medication, putting them at risk of causing a drowsy driving accident.

What Drivers Are Prone to Drowsy Driving?

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, certain types of drivers are more prone than others to accidents involving drowsy driving and falling asleep at the wheel. They include:

  • Young men between 18 and 29 who believe they can push themselves beyond normal limits and keep driving even without any sleep
  • Parents with young children who often have their sleep disrupted by a crying baby and get fragmented rest
  • Shift workers who work night shifts and clock long hours outside of the regular workday
  • People with sleep disorders
  • Commercial truck drivers

Drowsy driving is a pervasive problem among commercial truck drivers. Unfortunately, some trucking companies focus more on delivery deadlines than driver safety and alertness. Unreasonable delivery deadlines put pressure on 18-wheeler truck drivers to disregard rules limiting the hours behind the wheel and to push themselves until they are dangerously fatigued and at risk to themselves and other motorists on the highway.

Commercial truck drivers who stay at the wheel of 18 wheelers past the point of exhaustion pose a severe safety hazard on North Carolina highways. Driver fatigue is cited as a contributing factor in many serious and fatal truck accidents each year.

Vehicle drove into the side of a building due to drowsy driving.  On the back of a tow truck.

Helping Victims of Drowsy Drivers in North and South Carolina

Sufficient sleep is critical to our ability to drive safely. Drivers who have driven past the point of exhaustion and are fighting to stay awake are jeopardizing their own safety and the safety of others. They should be held accountable when their careless behavior causes harm to others. If you or your loved one has been injured by a drowsy driver, you may be entitled to seek compensation to cover your medical bills and other expenses.

At The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, our North Carolina drowsy driving attorney cares about our clients and treats them as part of our extended family. If you hire us, you will be working with a legal team of down-to-earth people who provide exceptional legal representation for our injured clients.

Call us at (800) 351-3008 for a free evaluation of your accident and explanation of your legal rights. Visit us at our offices in Hickory, Charlotte, and Greenville North Carolina or in Columbia and Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Contact our Personal Injury Attorneys

Contact us today to speak with one of our Charlotte, Hickory, Greenville, Rock Hill, or Columbia attorneys.

120 3rd St NE
Hickory, NC 28601

Phone: (828) 327-9004
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

130 Church St NE
Concord, NC 28025

Phone: (704) 787-9419
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

301 S McDowell St #1016
Charlotte, NC 28204

Phone: (704) 676-1093
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

1348 Ebenezer Rd #103
Rock Hill, SC 29732

Phone: (803) 980-5300
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

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News From Our Blog

Notice of Data Security Event
Updated March 28, 2025

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor is providing notice of an event that may affect certain individuals’ information. Although we have no indication of identity theft or fraud in relation to this event, we are providing information about the event, our response, and additional measures individuals can take to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On October 28, 2024, The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor identified suspicious activity related to our email system. We quickly took steps to investigate and determined that an unknown actor may have accessed certain emails within our email system between August 7 and November 7, 2024. We then conducted a comprehensive review of the potentially affected emails and attachments to determine what information was contained therein and to whom the information related, which was completed on February 25, 2025. Unfortunately, we were unable to verify the addresses of certain affected individuals, so we are providing this notice to ensure potentially affected individuals receive information about the event.

What Information Was Involved? The information affected may include individuals’ Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID information, financial account number, and health information.

What We Are Doing. We are notifying individuals about this matter and providing guidance about free resources that are available to assist with monitoring relevant accounts, credit reports, and how to place a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit file. Further, as with our typical security practices, we will continue to evaluate our policies, procedures, staff training, and technical security measures to reduce the likelihood of an event like this reoccurring.

What Individuals Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the below “Steps Individuals Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information”.

For More Information. If individuals have questions about this matter, we have a dedicated assistance line with agents ready to answer their questions. Please contact our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., excluding holidays. You may also write to us at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, Attn: Compliance, P.O. Box 2688, Hickory, NC 28603.

Sincerely,

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor

STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/

https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event.
STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT A MINOR DEPENDENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Typically, credit reporting agencies do not have a credit report in a minor’s name. To find out if a minor has a credit report or to request a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number each credit bureau has its own process. To learn more about these processes or request these services, consumers may contact the credit bureaus by phone, writing, or online:
Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/request-child-credit-report/
https://www.experian.com/help/minor-request.html
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft

1-800-685-1111 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013 P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

To request information about the existence of a credit file in a minor’s name, search for a minor’s Social Security number, place a security freeze or fraud alert on a minor’s credit report (if one exists), or request a copy of a minor’s credit report consumers may be required to provide the following information:
● A copy of their driver’s license or another government issued identification card, such as a state identification card, etc.;
● Proof of address, such as a copy of a bank statement, utility bill, insurance statement, etc.;
● A copy of the minor’s birth certificate;
● A copy of the minor’s Social Security card;
● The minor’s full name, including middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.;
● The minor’s date of birth; and
● The minor’s previous addresses for the past two years.

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