The 24 Hours
A little less sleep and a little alcohol may not seem like much. But together, they are.
Seven in the evening in an inn in the canton of Uri: dinner is on, and later someone drives off. Being under the legal limit does not mean that driving is safe. Horne, Reyner and Barrett had twelve healthy young men drive for two hours in an instrumented car on a simulated motorway, with alcohol or placebo, after a normal or a shortened night: blood alcohol was around half the British legal limit. Lost sleep and alcohol each made every measure worse, and together they made lane drifting worse still, with the effect visible in the EEG as well. In reported sleepiness, though, nothing showed: that drink did not make them feel any sleepier. A little sleep loss and a little alcohol look like two small things: the extra impairment is there and is not felt. After a short night, the drink before driving is the one to skip.
0:00The inn
0:09Below the limit
0:17The instrumented car
0:25Without noticing
0:32On the road
0:40The messageDetails 54 s · 9:16 · four languages · generated images, voice and music, declared as such · 2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
If the night before was short, the glass at dinner is the easiest thing to drop: the impairment is not felt, so it cannot be judged on the spot. Whoever is driving decides before sitting down, not after. And if you have already drunk after a short night, time clears the alcohol but not the missing sleep: what is left is a lift from someone else.
Seven in the evening. Dinner at an inn in the canton of Uri. Later, someone will get behind the wheel.
Seven in the evening in an inn in the canton of Uri: dinner is unhurried, and later someone will drive off.
Watch this passage (0:00) →
A drink below the legal limit. On little sleep, it shows on the road.
Being under the legal limit does not mean that driving is safe: on little sleep, even a little alcohol can make it worse. In the study by Horne, Reyner and Barrett, blood alcohol was around half the British limit.
Watch this passage (0:09) →That drink and a short night: together, more lane drifting than either alone.
Horne, Reyner and Barrett, 2003: twelve healthy young men, two hours of afternoon driving in an instrumented car on a simulated motorway, with alcohol or placebo after a normal or a shortened night and a blood alcohol level around half the British limit. Restricted sleep and alcohol each made every measure worse; together they made lane drifting worse still, and the effect showed in the EEG as well. The British limit at the time was 0.8 per mille: half of that is about 0.4. In Switzerland the ordinary limit is 0.5 per mille, and 0.1 for anyone driving on a probationary licence or professionally.
Horne, Reyner, Barrett 2003 · Occup Environ Med · DOI 10.1136/oem.60.9.689
Watch this passage (0:17) →
The alcohol they had didn't make the drivers feel any sleepier. To them, nothing had changed.
In reported sleepiness nothing showed: the alcohol did not make anyone feel sleepier. The measures got worse while the feeling stayed put.
Watch this passage (0:25) →
Together it gets worse still, and you don't feel the difference.
Together, driving gets worse still, and the extra impairment is not felt. On the road the drift remains, without the inner warning that usually comes with it.
Watch this passage (0:32) →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 sette di sera. In una locanda del Canton Uri si cena, e più tardi qualcuno rimette in strada l'auto.
FR
Sept heures du soir. Dans une auberge du canton d'Uri, on soupe, et plus tard quelqu'un reprend la route.
DE
Sieben Uhr abends. Abendessen in einem Gasthaus im Kanton Uri. Später fährt jemand los.
EN
Seven in the evening. Dinner at an inn in the canton of Uri. Later, someone will get behind the wheel.
line 2 0:10
IT
Un bicchiere sotto il limite. Con poco sonno alle spalle, però, si vede sulla strada.
FR
Un verre sous la limite. Avec peu de sommeil, pourtant, il se voit sur la route.
DE
Ein Glas unter der Grenze. Mit wenig Schlaf zeigt es sich auf der Strasse.
EN
A drink below the legal limit. On little sleep, it shows on the road.
line 3 0:17
IT
Quel bicchiere e una notte corta: insieme, più sbandamenti che ciascuno da solo.
FR
Ce verre et une nuit courte : ensemble, plus d'écarts de trajectoire que l'un ou l'autre pris isolément.
DE
Dieses Glas und eine kurze Nacht: Zusammen mehr Spurabweichungen als jeder Faktor für sich.
EN
That drink and a short night: together, more lane drifting than either alone.
line 4 0:26
IT
Per i conducenti non era cambiato niente: quel bicchiere non li faceva sentire più assonnati.
FR
Pour les conducteurs, rien n'avait changé : ce verre ne les rendait pas plus somnolents.
DE
Für die Fahrer hatte sich nichts geändert: Dieses Glas machte sie nicht schläfriger.
EN
The alcohol they had didn't make the drivers feel any sleepier. To them, nothing had changed.
line 5 0:33
IT
Insieme la guida peggiora ancora, senza che ce ne accorgiamo.
FR
Ensemble, c'est pire encore, et la dégradation passe inaperçue.
DE
Zusammen verschlechtert sich die Fahrleistung noch stärker, ohne dass man es merkt.
EN
Together it gets worse still, and you don't feel the difference.
line 6 0:41
IT
Poco sonno e poco alcol sembrano due piccole cose. Insieme non lo sono.
FR
Peu de sommeil et peu d'alcool semblent deux petites choses. Ensemble, ils ne le sont plus.
DE
Wenig Schlaf und wenig Alkohol wirken wie zwei Kleinigkeiten. Zusammen sind sie es nicht.
EN
A little less sleep and a little alcohol may not seem like much. But together, they are.
A question about this hour · 19:00
When an evening out runs late, how do you decide who drives home?
There is no right answer: we are interested in the experience of people who drive, including for work.
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2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
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