MASON CITY – A generous deputy allowed a dangerous, impaired driver to continue on after a traffic stop.
According to records, a Cerro Gordo deputy stopped a female driver for “erratic driving” on Thursday evening at 4th Street SW and Grover Avenue. The woman told the deputy that “she had participated in a sleep study the night before and was very tired.”
The woman, 56-year-old Linda Casey, was allowed to proceed and given a warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losses. Sleep deprivation and fatigue make lapses of attention more likely to occur, and may play a role in behavior that can lead to crashes attributed to other causes.
Few states have laws dealing directly with “drowsy driving.” Arkansas, California, New Jersey are among them, while other states have laws in the pipeline that are being considered.
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