A car accident that causes serious injury and death is never good news. Still, high profile accidents can help bring attention to important issues of public safety. This is certainly true for the recent accident in New Jersey that left one comedian dead and seriously injured others, including Tracy Morgan-well-known former cast member of “Saturday Night Live” and supporting actor in the sitcom, “30 Rock.”
In the aftermath of this accident, which left Mr. Morgan with numerous broken bones and in intensive care, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against the driver of a Wal-Mart truck. According to the complaint, when the truck smashed into Mr. Morgan’s limo, its driver had been awake for over 24 hours. And since this accident, numerous national media outlets-including The New York Times, Forbes, and The Huffington Post-have shed much-needed light on the scourge of drowsy driving.
A Common Problem
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving is responsible for over 100,000 car accidents every year, which lead to 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths. Perhaps even more shockingly, a 2002 report by the same agency revealed that over 1/3 of all drivers nod off or fall asleep at least once behind the wheel at some point in their driving careers.
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