Overview
- In mid-July 2026 TÜV Süd and the ACV renewed safety advice for holiday drivers, telling motorists to stop at the first signs of tiredness and use rest-area naps to reduce crash risk.
- Very brief microsleeps are acutely dangerous because closing your eyes for three seconds at 100 km/h produces more than 80 metres of ‘blind flight’ when hazards cannot be seen.
- Typical early warning signs include heavy eyelids, frequent blinking, burning eyes, feeling cold or tunnel vision and drivers are advised to pull over immediately if they appear.
- A 10–20 minute powernap at a rest stop restores alertness without entering deep sleep and a cup of coffee taken just before a short nap can boost wakefulness when the caffeine begins to work about 30 minutes later.
- The ACV cites studies equating prolonged wakefulness to alcohol impairment—about 17 hours awake ≈ 0.5‰ and 22 hours ≈ 1.0‰—and stresses sleeping before night departures and planning driver swaps or early pauses to avoid circadian low periods.