State laws and insurance company guidelines or definitions for an at-fault accident vary however in general if you fall asleep at the wheel of a motor vehicle and are in an accident you would be found at fault.

If you lose control of your car due to falling asleep than you are at fault whether it is a single car accident, like you crash off the roadway into a tree, or if you end up hitting another car due to you being asleep and not "driving" the car.

When you lose control of a car, either by driving too fast for conditions, sliding on ice or falling asleep at the wheel of your vehicle you are usually found at fault for any accident that you cause. Some states like Massachusetts have standards of fault that you can read through to determine if you will be found at fault for an accident while other states just have general negligence laws.

If you broke the rules of the road while asleep and had an accident then you are at-fault, being asleep is not an excuse as to why you would not be. There are instances where if you are instead unconscious due to an unknown medical condition that you may not be held liable.

If you are getting tired when driving it is your responsibility to take yourself off the roadway and not put yourself or anyone else at risk by continuing to drive and possibly falling asleep and being in an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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 and 71,000 injuries. So falling asleep at the wheel can be serious in that someone can be hurt or killed by the inability of a drowsy driver to pull over and get off the roadway. If you end up falling asleep and causing an accident than you are most always found at fault by police and insurance companies.

For low cost car insurance, click here.