Sleepless on the highway

Fatigue is involved in around 10 to 20 percent of all road accidents. Anyone who gets behind the wheel tired endangers themselves, passengers and other road users. This is why the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BfU) - together with the TCS, the Road Safety Council and the Road Safety Fund - is launching a three-year campaign to combat fatigue at the wheel. The campaign started on March 14 with the national Turbo Sleep Day.

The term "Turboschlaf" is an invention of the creative minds at Numéro 10, with which Head of Strategy Gilles Aeby wants to launch a popular formulation for the technical term "Powernap". Turboschlaf can be adapted into all national languages and is also intended to arouse the curiosity of the target group more quickly with "Turbo". The creative paraphrasing of the scientifically confirmed effect of the power nap is the heart of the campaign, which Numéro 10 won in a pitch. In the first year, the general message is that such a short nap can work wonders for people who are overtired. If there are signs of drowsiness while driving, drivers should pull over as soon as possible and recharge their batteries with a short nap of ideally 15 minutes. The recommendation is visualized with print images and films showing drivers in all possible and impossible situations, fast asleep. Further tips and information can be found at www.turboschlaf.ch. Viral films are also intended to appeal to young people. These document guerrilla campaigns by Numéro 10, in which an actor lies down for a turbo nap in the most conspicuous places possible. So far, the "hidden camera" has been filmed at a car showroom, on the escalator of a department store or on a football pitch.
In the second year, the campaign will focus more on senior citizens and professional drivers, and in the third year on young people. Andreas Panzeri