Collisions caused by sleep and the law

The implications and dangers for driving with either an untreated or undiagnosed sleep disorder are immense. Last July I blogged about OSA and driving. It is estimated that in Victoria approximately 70 deaths are caused by fatigue and 500 injuries. These may not be exclusively related to sleep disorders but a significant percentage are. Having an untreated sleep disorder increases the risk of being involved in a MVA by 2-7 times.

While death and injury can result from such collisions, the other implication is the law. If the collision is deemed to be caused by an individual falling asleep and another person is killed or injured, how is this treated by the law?

A journal article looked at 7 cases where the driver fell asleep and caused a collision with other car(s) and what the mediolegal outcome was. In all cases the collision caused death.

In all the cases the driver was either suffering from an undiagnosed or under treated sleep disorder. This was confirmed by overnight sleep studies. Another common linked between all cases was that the driver remained licenced to driver immediately after the collision.

Where the differences creep in between cases was the legal outcomes. Some of the drivers were acquitted, while others were jailed. One driver who was jailed was a commercial driver who had been diagnosed with OSA nine moths earlier but had failed to attend follow up appointments to received treatment. The driver was sent reminder letters of the need for follow up appointments. He was jailed for three years and suspended from driving for 5 years.

The article points out the inconsistent nature of the rulings and also the danger associated with all drivers being allowed to continue driving immediately after the incidents.

Amazingly three drivers who escaped conviction kept their license. Unfortunately the case studies lack some details and it is not evident if these three drivers were successfully treated for their sleep disorder. Treatment of OSA with CPAP has been demonstrated to reduce daytime sleepiness and brings the individuals risk of a collision back to control levels.

Jessica