When another driver drifts into your lane or fails to brake, you may wonder whether they were too tired to drive safely. In a New Jersey car accident claim, fatigue can matter if the evidence shows it contributed to the crash and your injuries. The driver does not need a drowsy driving citation for you to raise that issue.

The harder part is often showing what happened before the collision. Fatigue leaves no test result like alcohol does, so witness accounts, video and details about the driver’s activities may help piece together whether a lack of sleep played a role.

Key Takeaways: How Driver Fatigue Impacts Car Accident Claims in New Jersey

• Fatigue may support a negligence claim when the evidence shows that a driver’s impaired alertness contributed to a crash.
• Witness statements, video, driving records and other circumstances may help establish fatigue even without a citation.
• New Jersey’s comparative negligence law can reduce an injured person’s recovery if they also contributed to the collision.
• Auto insurance coverage and New Jersey’s limitation on lawsuit option may affect which losses an injured person can recover.
• Prompt action may help preserve footage and other evidence that could disappear.

How Can Driver Fatigue Contribute to a Crash?

A tired driver may react slowly, miss a hazard, drift from a lane or briefly fall asleep. Fatigue can develop after too little sleep, long or irregular work hours, or an extended period behind the wheel. CDC guidance also identifies sleep disorders and medications that cause drowsiness as possible contributors.

Crashes associated with drowsy driving occur particularly often between midnight and 6 a.m. and in the late afternoon, when alertness can naturally decline. NHTSA notes that a vehicle running off the road without evidence of braking can be a clue, though that pattern alone does not prove the driver was asleep. The time of day and the driver’s actions must be considered alongside the other evidence. NHTSA.

Is Driving While Fatigued Illegal in New Jersey?

New Jersey does not have a separate, general traffic offense called “drowsy driving.” A driver can still violate traffic laws if fatigue contributes to unsafe conduct. For example, New Jersey’s careless driving statute addresses driving without due caution in a way likely to endanger people or property.

New Jersey law also addresses extreme sleep deprivation in fatal crashes. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5, proof that a driver fell asleep at the wheel or drove after more than 24 consecutive hours without sleep may support an inference of recklessness in a vehicular homicide case. That criminal rule does not automatically establish liability in a personal injury claim.

For an injured person pursuing compensation, the practical issue is whether the available evidence shows that the driver failed to use reasonable care and that the failure contributed to the crash.

What Evidence Can Show That a Driver Was Drowsy?

Fatigue usually has to be established through the surrounding circumstances. A driver may be awake and alert by the time an officer arrives, so observations from before and immediately after the crash can be especially useful.

Depending on the case, relevant evidence may include:

• dashcam, traffic camera or nearby surveillance video;
• witnesses who saw repeated lane drifting or other unusual driving;
• statements the driver made about sleep, work or travel before the crash;
• police observations and the crash report;
• physical evidence showing the vehicle’s path and whether the driver appeared to brake;
• event data recorder information, if available, that may show pre-crash speed, braking and, in some vehicles, steering input; and
• relevant work schedules or travel records that can be legally obtained.

For example, suppose a dashcam records a car gradually crossing two lanes shortly after midnight, and the driver tells an officer they have been awake since the previous morning. Those facts may support an investigation into fatigue. They do not, by themselves, rule out another explanation for the crash.

A diagnosed sleep disorder or medication that causes drowsiness may also become relevant when there is a connection to the collision. Access to another person’s medical information is subject to privacy protections and the rules governing evidence in a civil case.

Work and Travel Records in Fatigue Claims

A driver’s activities before a crash can help establish a timeline. Work schedules, dispatch messages, GPS information, toll receipts or fuel receipts may show when the driver was working or traveling. They do not necessarily show when the driver slept.

Some commercial driving investigations may also involve hours of service records or electronic logging device data. Those records depend on the type of driver and vehicle; federal ELD requirements have exceptions. Even when logs are available, compliance with driving time rules does not establish that a driver was well rested.

If the driver was working at the time of the crash, the employer’s potential responsibility may also need to be examined. That depends on the driver’s relationship with the employer, what they were doing at the time and the other facts of the case.

How Does Comparative Negligence Affect a Fatigue Claim?

Evidence that one driver was fatigued does not prevent the other driver’s conduct from being considered. New Jersey allows fault to be divided when more than one person contributed to a collision.

Suppose a fatigued driver drifts into another lane, but the injured driver was speeding. If a jury assigns 75% of the fault to the fatigued driver and 25% to the injured driver, the injured driver’s damages would generally be reduced by 25%.

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, an injured person generally can recover only if their negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person—or the combined negligence of the people—from whom they seek recovery. Any award is reduced by the injured person’s share of fault.

What Can Affect the Value of a Fatigue Related Claim?

Fatigue may help explain why a crash happened, but it does not set the value of an injury claim. The nature of the injuries, treatment needs, missed work, lasting limitations and each driver’s share of fault can all matter.

New Jersey’s auto insurance rules matter as well. Personal injury protection coverage may pay certain medical expenses, and the applicable policy can affect which other losses are recoverable. A person subject to New Jersey’s limitation on lawsuit option may also need to meet its requirements to recover damages for pain and suffering. The outcome depends on the coverage and circumstances of the claim.

Why Does Preserving Evidence Early Matter?

Evidence of fatigue can disappear quickly. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, witnesses may become difficult to locate and a driver’s activities before the crash may become harder to reconstruct.

If you are physically able after a collision, consider saving any photos or video you have, getting witnesses’ contact information and writing down what you observed about the other driver. Seek medical evaluation and keep records of your treatment, expenses and missed work. You can also request the police report when it becomes available.

These steps do not prove fatigue on their own. They help preserve information that may later be considered with the rest of the evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is falling asleep at the wheel considered negligence in New Jersey?

Falling asleep at the wheel may support a negligence claim, but it does not automatically decide the case. The circumstances leading up to the crash, the driver’s conduct and the cause of the injured person’s losses still matter.

Can a camera prove a driver was fatigued?

Video may show lane drifting, a failure to brake or other driving behavior consistent with fatigue. It generally cannot establish why the driver acted that way without additional evidence.

Can a driver’s work schedule become evidence?

Yes, if it is relevant and legally obtainable. A schedule may help establish when the driver worked, though it may not show how much sleep they got between shifts.

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in New Jersey?

A New Jersey personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. Different deadlines or notice requirements can apply in some cases, including claims involving public entities.

Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law Can Help You Make Sense of the Evidence

When fatigue is suspected, the circumstances before the collision can matter as much as what happened at the point of impact. Witness accounts, video, travel history and available vehicle data may help explain whether a driver’s lack of alertness contributed to the crash.

If you believe driver fatigue played a role in your accident, Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, can explain how the evidence may relate to a personal injury claim under New Jersey law.

Contact our office anytime to discuss your situation and get answers based on the circumstances of your accident.