The 24 Hours
If you have to come through here at this hour, sleep first. The hour won't change.
Two in the morning at the Gotthard entrance: the rush-hour queue is gone and only the headlights remain. At this hour the body is not simply lagging behind the day, it is inside its own night. Akerstedt and Kecklund combined crash registers, time-use data and traffic flows and found, among drivers aged 18 to 24, a night-time risk five times the morning risk, with alcohol-related crashes excluded. This is not about experience: the same person, on the same road, drives differently by day. The low point in alertness comes a little later, and the road gives no sign of it. Anyone who has to cross the Gotthard at this hour sleeps first.
Details 53 s · 9:16 · four languages · generated images, voice and music, declared as such · 2026-10-03 · Drive Awake
If the drive at this hour cannot be avoided, swapping drivers is worth more than any break: the one who slept takes the wheel. Alone, the stop is taken before the low point, not after. The highest risk falls on drivers between eighteen and twenty-four, and it does not depend on experience at the wheel.
Two in the morning. At the Gotthard entrance the queue is gone. Only headlights and the tunnel.
Two in the morning at the Gotthard entrance: the queue has dissolved and only the headlights and the tunnel are left. The south portal at Airolo, dating from 1980, is the work of Rino Tami, who served as the Canton of Ticino's aesthetic consultant for motorway construction from 1962 to 1983.
Watch this passage (0:00) →
By now, the body is deep into its biological night, no longer in the day that has just ended.
At this hour the body is not lagging behind the day: it is in the stretch of night the internal clock keeps for sleep.
Watch this passage (0:09) →Between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, the risk at night is five times higher than in the morning.
Akerstedt and Kecklund, 2001: crash registers, time-use surveys and traffic flows brought together, with alcohol-related crashes excluded. Between 18 and 24, the night-time risk comes out five times the morning risk.
Åkerstedt, Kecklund 2001 · J Sleep Res · DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2869.2001.00248.x
Watch this passage (0:15) →
It's not a lack of experience. It's the time of day: the same person drives differently in daylight.
The gap has nothing to do with years of licence: the same person, on the same road, drives differently by day.
Watch this passage (0:24) →
Alertness is about to hit its lowest point. And the road gives no sign.
The low point in alertness comes a little later, in the hours before dawn, and the road gives no warning.
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 due. All'imbocco del Gottardo la fila è finita. Restano i fari e la galleria.
FR
Deux heures. À l'entrée du Gothard, la file a disparu. Restent les phares et le tunnel.
DE
Zwei Uhr. Vor dem Gotthard ist die Kolonne weg. Geblieben sind Scheinwerfer und Tunnel.
EN
Two in the morning. At the Gotthard entrance the queue is gone. Only headlights and the tunnel.
line 2 0:09
IT
Adesso il corpo è dentro la sua notte, non più nella giornata di ieri.
FR
Maintenant, le corps est dans sa nuit, et non plus dans la journée de la veille.
DE
Jetzt ist der Körper in seiner Nacht. Der Tag von gestern ist vorbei.
EN
By now, the body is deep into its biological night, no longer in the day that has just ended.
line 3 0:16
IT
Fra i diciotto e i ventiquattro anni, di notte il rischio è cinque volte quello del mattino.
FR
Entre dix-huit et vingt-quatre ans, la nuit, le risque est cinq fois plus élevé que le matin.
DE
Zwischen achtzehn und vierundzwanzig Jahren ist das Risiko nachts fünfmal so hoch wie morgens.
EN
Between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, the risk at night is five times higher than in the morning.
line 4 0:25
IT
Non è esperienza che manca. È l'ora: la stessa persona, di giorno, guida in un altro modo.
FR
Ce n'est pas l'expérience qui manque. C'est l'heure : de jour, la même personne conduit autrement.
DE
Es fehlt nicht an Erfahrung. Es liegt an der Uhrzeit: Dieselbe Person fährt am Tag anders.
EN
It's not a lack of experience. It's the time of day: the same person drives differently in daylight.
line 5 0:33
IT
La vigilanza sta per toccare il fondo. La strada non lo annuncia.
FR
La vigilance va toucher son creux. La route ne l'annonce pas.
DE
Die Wachsamkeit erreicht gleich ihren Tiefpunkt. Die Strasse kündigt ihn nicht an.
EN
Alertness is about to hit its lowest point. And the road gives no sign.
line 6 0:40
IT
Se devi passare di qui a quest'ora, dormi prima. L'ora non si sposta.
FR
Si tu dois passer par ici à cette heure-ci, dors avant. L'heure, elle, ne bouge pas.
DE
Wenn du um diese Zeit hier durchmusst, schlaf vorher. Die Uhrzeit verschiebt sich nicht.
EN
If you have to come through here at this hour, sleep first. The hour won't change.
A question about this hour · 02:00
If you ever drive between one and three in the morning, what decides when you set off?
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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