The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has launched their first Driver Fatigue TV Ad Campaign and will be showing the new ad called ‘Signs’ in the lead-up to the bank holiday. The RSA and An Garda Síochána also launched the August Bank Holiday Road Safety Campaign this week. The reason for the campaign is due to an increase of road accidents over the last five years. The campaign will be focusing on driver fatigue and making drivers aware of the dangers involved with driving when tired.
“Since 2010, 39 people have been killed and seriously injured on our roads over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Driver fatigue is the silent killer on our roads, particularly when people are travelling long distances,” Chief Superintendent Mark Curran from the Garda National Traffic Bureau said. “Last August Bank Holiday Gardaí dealt with 160 drink drivers, over 2,700 speeders, over 200 drivers holding a mobile phone whilst driving and over 150 drivers not wearing a safety belt.”
One in five deaths on the roads in Ireland can be blamed on driver fatigue; the collisions are worse because the driver loses control over the vehicle and speed is increased when drivers fall asleep behind the wheel. Motorists who work as drivers and drink before getting in the car, tends to fall asleep behind the wheel easier; a survey revealed that 1 in 10 motorists fall asleep behind the wheel.
“Thousands of people will be taking to the roads this weekend and for many there are long journeys ahead. Driver fatigue can creep up on you slowly and it is impossible to fight it while you are driving. Yet the risks can be tragic. So recognise the signs that you are becoming tired behind the wheel of the car; take appropriate action and protect yourself, your passengers and other road-users. Equally, if you’re a passenger in a car being driven by a tired driver, speak up. Ask the driver to pull over safely, and follow the Stop.Sip.Sleep advice. Let’s all work together to ensure this bank holiday weekend is free from tragedy,” Minister for Transport, Tourism and sport, Paschal Donohoe TD requested from motorists that intend to travel this bank holiday.
The TV ad is a 40 second long ad which will give advice on how to deal with falling asleep while driving. Stop.Sip.Sleep – Stop the car in a safe place, Sip a caffeine drink, and sleep for 15-20 minutes – is the message of the campaign.
Ms Moyagh Murdock, Chief Executive of the Road Safety Authority also had this advice for motorists: “Make sure you are well rested before you take to the roads and if you begin to feel tired, pull over, have a cup of coffee and take a 15-20 minute nap, then get fresh air. This should allow you to continue driving for another hour or so. This year, we are partnering with Applegreen again on our Driver Reviver campaign where drivers can get a free cup of coffee at any of the participating Applegreen stations. I would urge all drivers to plan their journeys with this in mind and don’t try to fight sleep at the wheel. Turning the radio up or opening the window will not cure tiredness. The only cure for tiredness is sleep.”
The campaign will run from 2pm to 8pm on Friday and Monday and drivers will be able to get their free cup of coffee from any of the 15 participating service stations when they mention ‘RSA’ to the till attended. For those of you are interested in watching the new TV ad, it will be showed on RTE Six One News at 6:20pm on Thursday, 30th July, or alternatively you can view it on https://vimeo.com/134702758 enter password RSA – or go to YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpAW-k55FGE.
RSA Driver Attitudes & Behaviours Survey 2014 by Behaviour & Attitudes:
Killed and Seriously Injured, 2009 to 2014
| Year | Fatalities | Fatal Collisions | Serious Injuries | Injury Collisions |
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| 2010 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
| 2013 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
