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Bill would punish sleepy drivers
By Ira Kantor October 14, 2007...Should a person who falls asleep behind the wheel be as liable for his hazardous driving as a drunken driver? That's the contention of state Sen. Richard Moore, who recently re-filed legislation to make sleeping behind the wheel a more serious crime in Massachusetts. "If you fall asleep at the wheel and create an accident where someone dies it needs to be considered at the level of a homicide and a felony if not," said Moore, D-Uxbridge. Moore first filed "Rob's Law" in 2004 in memory of Robert Raneri, an Army major killed in a 2002 accident caused by a 19-year-old driver who admitted to being awake for 24 hours before the crash, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Raneri was on his way to Devens. The driver only received five years probation and a 10-year suspended license, according to documents provided by Moore. "People have responsibilities when they get behind the wheel to be capable of handling that vehicle for the safety of others," Moore said. "(Falling asleep) is severe negligence in handling those responsibilities." According to a 2005 nationwide poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 37 percent of all licensed adult drivers admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel. Based on those numbers, the foundation said as many as 11 million people also admitted to having or coming close to having car accidents because they were sleep-deprived. Read the full story at milforddailynews.com |