The 24 Hours
Sleepiness is never counted. That is why it looks as if it isn't there.
It is six in the evening and on the bridge the traffic slows. Every crash that happens here will become a line in a statistic, with a cause written beside it. For alcohol that cause is established by a test, for speed by a measurement. For sleepiness, at the scene, there is nothing equivalent: what is left are the signs the Federal Court recognises, heavy eyelids, yawning, sharp steering, drifting out of lane. These are observed signs, not measured values. That is why the Swiss figure should be read for what it is: in motorway crashes with serious injuries, the bfu gives tiredness and falling asleep as the main cause in 7% of cases, and in 1% of fatal ones. It is the cause written down by an observer, not a measured value. Something that is not measured does not enter the plans, and what is not in the plans is not prevented.
0:00The bridge
0:10What gets measured
0:19The signs
0:29An estimate
0:38Out of the plans
0:45The messageDetails 59 s · 9:16 · four languages · generated images, voice and music, declared as such · 2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
What you can do is say what happened: admitting you fell asleep helps the figure exist at all. At the wheel the practical rule is unchanged and depends on no statistic: if you are sleepy, stop. Nobody counts sleepiness, but the person driving feels it before anyone else.
Six in the evening. On the bridge over the lake the traffic slows. Here every crash ends up in the statistics.
Six in the evening on the bridge: the traffic slows, and every crash here will end as a line in a statistic.
Watch this passage (0:00) →
For alcohol there is a breath test. For speed there are measurements. For sleepiness, at the scene, nothing.
For alcohol there is a test, for speed a measurement. For sleepiness, at the scene, there is no equivalent instrument.
Watch this passage (0:10) →
What is left is observation: heavy eyelids, yawning, swerving. Signs, not measurements.
What is left are the signs the courts recognise: heavy eyelids, yawning, sharp steering, drifting out of lane. Observed signs, not measured values.
Watch this passage (0:19) →So the Swiss figure is an estimate: on motorways, 7% of serious crashes, according to the BFU.
BFU, Sinus 2024, p. 63: among the main causes of motorway crashes, 2019-2023 average, the category of tiredness and falling asleep accounts for 7% of crashes with serious injuries and 1% of fatal crashes. It is the cause assigned by whoever recorded the crash, not a diagnosis: a minimum, not a total.
bfu · Sinus 2024 · p. 63 · DOI 10.13100/BFU.2.536.01.2024
Watch this passage (0:29) →
What is not measured doesn't make it into the plans. And what is not in the plans is not prevented.
Something that does not enter the measurements does not enter the prevention plans either, and stays outside the count made each year.
Watch this passage (0:38) →The corrections made to this text, with their date, their reason and the lines they touched.
Slide 4 said «about one crash in ten», based on two bfu pages without a DOI. It now says 7%: the share of motorway crashes with serious injuries that the bfu attributes, as the main cause, to tiredness and falling asleep (Sinus 2024, p. 63, 2019-2023 average; 1% of fatal crashes). The scope is narrower, motorways only, and the source has a DOI. The line remains an estimate: it is the cause written down by whoever recorded the crash.
Lines touched IT line 4, FR line 4, DE line 4, EN line 4
Revisions that concern the whole series are in the campaign diary →
The same lines you see in the video, side by side. This is where the gaps between languages show: a turn of phrase that does not hold, a word out of place, a figure that changes weight. If you find one, the button next to the line opens the report with hour, language and minute already filled in. All episodes on one page →
line 1 0:01
IT
Le sei di sera. Sul ponte sopra il lago il traffico rallenta. Qui ogni incidente finisce nelle statistiche.
FR
Dix-huit heures. Sur le pont qui enjambe le lac, le trafic ralentit. Ici, chaque accident est comptabilisé dans les statistiques.
DE
Achtzehn Uhr. Auf der Brücke über den See stockt der Verkehr. Hier wird jeder Unfall statistisch erfasst.
EN
Six in the evening. On the bridge over the lake the traffic slows. Here every crash ends up in the statistics.
line 2 0:11
IT
Per l'alcol c'è l'etilometro. Per la velocità ci sono i rilievi. Per la sonnolenza, sul posto, niente.
FR
Pour l'alcool, l'éthylomètre. Pour la vitesse, des relevés. Pour la somnolence, sur place, rien.
DE
Für Alkohol gibt es den Atemtest, für die Geschwindigkeit die Messung. Für Schläfrigkeit vor Ort nichts.
EN
For alcohol there is a breath test. For speed there are measurements. For sleepiness, at the scene, nothing.
line 3 0:20
IT
Resta l'osservazione: palpebre pesanti, sbadigli, sterzate brusche. Segni, non misure.
FR
Reste l'observation : paupières lourdes, bâillements, coups de volant. Des signes, pas des mesures.
DE
Bleibt die Beobachtung: schwere Lider, Gähnen, ruckartiges Lenken. Zeichen, keine Messwerte.
EN
What is left is observation: heavy eyelids, yawning, swerving. Signs, not measurements.
line 4 0:29
IT
Così la cifra svizzera è una stima: in autostrada, il 7% degli incidenti gravi, secondo l'Ufficio prevenzione infortuni.
FR
Le chiffre suisse est donc une estimation : sur autoroute, 7 % des accidents graves, selon le BPA.
DE
Die Schweizer Zahl ist also eine Schätzung: auf Autobahnen 7 % der schweren Unfälle, laut BFU.
EN
So the Swiss figure is an estimate: on motorways, 7% of serious crashes, according to the BFU.
line 5 0:39
IT
Quello che non si misura non entra nei piani. E quello che non entra nei piani non si previene.
FR
Ce qu'on ne mesure pas n'entre pas dans les plans. Et ce qui n'y entre pas ne se prévient pas.
DE
Was man nicht misst, wird nicht geplant. Und was nicht geplant wird, wird nicht verhindert.
EN
What is not measured doesn't make it into the plans. And what is not in the plans is not prevented.
line 6 0:46
IT
Nessuno conta la sonnolenza. Per questo sembra che non ci sia.
FR
La somnolence ne se chiffre pas. C'est pourquoi elle semble ne pas exister.
DE
Schläfrigkeit wird nicht mitgezählt. Darum scheint es sie nicht zu geben.
EN
Sleepiness is never counted. That is why it looks as if it isn't there.
A question about this hour · 18:00
In your view, what would it take to know how many crashes are linked to sleepiness?
There is no right answer: we are interested in the experience of people who drive, including for work.
The conversations happen on our channels. When there is one about this hour, we will link to it here.
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This episode is online. If something feels off, a word, a figure, a detail in the image, tell us below: two lines are enough. We read everything, and every correction goes into the diary, with its date.
We read every message. If it becomes a correction, the text changes here on the site and goes into the episode's diary, with its date and its reason. Corrections already made →
2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
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