Last year, a teenager from Dodge County fell asleep while driving. The vehicle driven by the 16-year-old drifted across the road and into a marsh before stopping. Fortunately, no one was hurt as a result of the accident. Police ticketed the driver for inattentive driving. After being convicted of the charge at the trial court, the young driver appealed, arguing that falling asleep at the wheel was not covered by Wisconsin’s inattentive driving statute. The Court of Appeals of Wisconsin disagreed, ruling that the inattentive driving statute covers any activity that takes the driver’s attention away from the task of driving, including falling asleep.
The Wisconsin distracted driving attorneys of Samster, Konkel & Safran encourage all drivers to keep their attention on the task of driving. We are involved in a campaign to end distracted driving, such as texting while driving. Blue thumb bands are available for drivers to show their pledge to not text and drive. Visit our office at 11063 West Bluemound Road, Suite 205, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, 53226, e-mail our office at info@skslawyers.com, or call our office to get the thumb bands. Please be on the lookout for our public service announcements on television, radio and the internet. Also, if you know of a school or group looking to have a distracted driving presentation provided, please contact us and one of our attorneys would be happy to provide a free presentation and thumb bands.
