General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDriving While Sleepy- Millions of people do it
but if a sleepy driver causes a fatal accident, what should the punishment be? Should it matter WHY the person was sleepy? Kevin Roper, the Walmart truck driver who slammed into Tracy Morgan's limo, allegedly told police he had not slept in 24 hours (presumably due to his job). Now he's facing a long prison sentence but it seems a little unfair that Walmart won't be charged.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)I think all those charges will gradually be reduced, it's always overkill at first.
If it's found that WalMart illegally sent him out on back to back runs with no rest period in between, then they're going to have to face a fine, a large one.
My guess is that a shredder in one of their warehouses is working overtime right now.
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)Let's hope the lawsuit is a doozy.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)at some point or another? Shit, I almost went off the road a dozen times on my way home from work--I was a night shifter, 12 hour shifts, hour-long drive home in the morning, chronically sleep-deprived. My husband dozed off at a stoplight after an 18-hour workday. It's not intentional or even controllable--being exhausted is human.
Ilsa
(61,698 posts)Because I was too sleepy to drive. Even in the middle of the day, 95 degree heat, I've taken catnaps with the windows down. Narcolepsy behind the wheel is too scary.
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)unless he lost it.
GeorgeGist
(25,323 posts)although WalMart might have deleted it.
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)It looked like a GPS unit. I am sure it is now in the possession of the New Jersey State Police.
I was joking about the driver 'losing' it.
I wonder how much attention this accjdent woukd be getting if the victims were not entertainers?
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)While this is not at all intended to be a comment on the referenced accident -- I don't know enough to do so -- all too often people do drive when they have no business staying on the road. There are times when there doesn't seem to be a choice, but there are times when it is.
I'm convinced that more accidents that we know are caused at least in part by a sleep-deprived driver.
LisaLynne
(14,554 posts)driving when that sleep deprived, then I think the employer is at fault. People are always like, "Hey, get another job", but it's not that easy, especially lately. Our jobs are not trivial. They are how we feed ourselves, our families, how we provide for shelter for those we love, how we survive. That's why workers need SO many more protections than we have. But, that's slightly off topic. Basically, what I am saying, is that employers who put a person in a position of feeling they have to do something dangerous in order to keep their job, I feel, is responsible for those outcomes.
Also, I think we as a society need to start taking driving more seriously than we do. It's so common place it's really easy to forget the damage we can do in a split second of dozing off or looking at our phone.