Statistics related to injury accidents caused by driver fatigue are difficult to come by since incidents of driver fatigue are under reported and hard to detect. A police officer may be prepared to detect signs of drug or alcohol use but may not be trained or inclined to investigate fatigue to the same extent. The studies that have been done show some alarming results about the dangers of driving while fatigued. A survey by the National Sleep Foundation reported in this article found that two out of five drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel within the past year. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study found that over 100,000 fatigue related driving accidents were reported to police each year, although it was widely acknowledged that fatigue as a cause was under detected and under reported.

More recently, the Insurance Bureau of Canada hosted a symposium on driver fatigue and produced a lengthy report. Some of the statistics and results found in that report are as follows:

17.9% of all fatal crashes are fatigue related
25.5% of all injury crashes are fatigue related
the risk of a driver being involved in an injury accident is three times greater when driving on less than five hours sleep
the risk of being involved in an injury accident is eight times greater when drivers report sleepiness
a sleep deprivation driving test showed that drivers are 8.1 times more likely to cross over the solid lines on the roads when driving while fatigued

The conclusion drawn from the various studies, tests and surveys was that sleep deprivation and fatigue can significantly affect driving and cause serious injuries and damage on the roads.

For drivers of 18 wheelers, semis and tractor trailers, as they are often referred to, in Florida and elsewhere, the correlation between fatigue and injury accidents is even more critical, given the size and weight of those vehicles and the amount of time a tractor trailer driver may be on the road. That is why it is very important for drivers of 18 wheelers to avoid driving while sleep deprived or otherwise fatigued and strictly follow the Federal regulations which prescribe the number of hours a tractor trailer driver can drive and be on duty before he or she has to take a break to rest.

If a tractor trailer driver causes an injury accident, the driver and the truck company can be sure that any attorney bringing a claim or lawsuit will investigate the driver's condition at the time of the crash and the number of hours he or she was driving and on duty prior to the crash.