Driver fatigue is an underrated problem. According to last year’s official accident statistics, 1,940 traffic accidents in Germany were caused by fatigue or falling asleep when driving. In more than half of these accidents, people were seriously injured or even killed. Still, drivers often ignore onset of fatigue while driving and carry on without taking a break to recharge their batteries. As a result, their ability to concentrate is reduced, distances and speeds are misjudged and the risk increases of a dangerous moment of microsleep (nodding off). Since 2016, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, the German Road Safety Council campaign “Careful – don’t nod off! Combating driver fatigue.” has been promoting driver awareness of the dangers of driver fatigue and highlighting urgent and preventative solutions.

Commuters (people having to drive long distances to reach their job) are a particularly high-risk target group, because driving repeatedly along the same stretch of road, day after day, especially at a time when human performance slumps significantly (late afternoon) is associated with an increased tendency to fall asleep, and therefore also with an increased risk of accidents. This means that the drive home in particular calls for complete concentration.

The idea was creating a useful giveaway for commuters. The giveaways had to be given to them during their stop at park & ride facilities and needed to be something which could be used immediately during their driving break.

“Sleep tight – just not on the road.” This plea is to be printed onto a pillow made of original airbag material. The effect is twofold: to indicate how important it is to take brief naps and breaks, while also illustrating the potentially fatal consequences of microsleep.

By giving out these pillows at park & ride facilities following the end of a shift, we provide drivers with a practical aid to help them structure breaks more effectively, while also contributing to driver comfort.