Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s roads are full of drivers who would never dream of getting behind the wheel after a few drinks, yet many still treat tiredness as something they can simply push through. That is the warning now coming from Spain’s traffic authority, which says fatigue remains one of the most underestimated dangers on the country’s roads.
The latest push comes from a new campaign launched on 14 April by Fundación Abertis, with backing from the DGT, Repsol, AdSalutem Instituto del Sueño and Instituto Guttmann. At the presentation, DGT chief Pere Navarro argued that Spain’s late routines are part of the problem, saying the country lives well but sleeps badly. Spanish reporting on the event said he pointed to late-night television and football that finished after midnight as examples of the sleep habits that feed driver fatigue.
Why the warning matters
This is not a minor issue dressed up as a campaign slogan. The DGT says up to one in four traffic accidents with casualties is linked to tiredness or drowsiness, while somnolence is associated with more than 100 road deaths a year. The danger rises sharply on secondary roads and during the body’s natural low-alert periods, especially between 4.00 am and 6.00 am and again between 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm.
There is also a wider sleep problem behind the road-safety message. In a previous DGT event on sleep and driving, officials said 45% of people in Spain sleep less than the recommended seven hours and that Spaniards sleep around 10% less than the rest of Europe. That lack of rest, experts warned, has a direct impact on reaction times, attention and decision-making on the road.
Fatigue does not look dramatic until it is too late
One reason tired driving is so easily brushed aside is that it does not always feel like an emergency. But the physical effect can be severe. The Abertis campaign says driving after fewer than five hours of sleep can impair performance to a level comparable with alcohol levels above the legal limit in many countries. DGT guidance also warns that tired drivers notice signs later, brake later and can slip into microsleeps without even realising it.
Those microsleeps may last only a few seconds, but they can be deadly. DGT says that at 100 km/h, a driver can travel almost 30 metres with no real control of the vehicle. That helps explain why sleep-related crashes are often serious, particularly when they involve running off the road or a delayed reaction to something ahead.
The signs drivers should not ignore
Spain’s traffic authority says the warning signs are usually there before a crash happens. Heavy eyelids, repeated blinking, yawning, dry mouth, slower coordination and the feeling of driving on autopilot all point to a body that is no longer coping properly with the journey. Microsleeps are the most serious signal of all and should be treated as a red flag to stop immediately.
The official advice is not complicated. Do not try to battle through the tiredness. Pull over safely, get out of the car, move around and rest. The whole point of the campaign is to make drivers act before fatigue takes over, not after.
It is not only about sleep
The DGT is also urging motorists to think about medication. In recent guidance, it warned that some medicines can impair driving, especially those that cause drowsiness, and advised drivers to read the leaflet carefully and look out for the warning pictogram on the packaging. It singled out benzodiazepines as a particular concern because they can reduce attention, reflexes and reaction time.
That matters because tiredness and medication do not always arrive separately. DGT guidance says the risk rises when poor sleep, sedative drugs or alcohol overlap. In an earlier sleep-and-driving briefing, experts said lack of sleep or alcohol each multiply crash risk by five, while the combination can be far worse.
Spain’s late habits have a road-safety cost
The football line may be what caught attention, but the bigger point is harder to shrug off. Spain’s late schedules are woven into everyday life, from television and social dinners to long drives home after matches, holidays or weekends away. Yet the body does not become safer simply because being tired feels normal.
That is why this DGT tired driving warning matters. It is less about one late kick-off and more about a national habit of underestimating fatigue. For drivers heading home after a long day, a long meal or a late match, the safest decision may be the simplest one: stop before tiredness decides for you.