The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Applegreen have teamed up to help drivers to combat the effects of driver fatigue over the May Bank Holiday Weekend. 

Applegreen will be providing free cups of coffee to drivers at Applegreen Service Stations around the country. This is the fourth year of this partnership which has seen over thousands of cups of coffee handed out to tired drivers over bank holiday weekends.

Between 2010 and 2015, 17 people died and 48 were seriously injured over the May Bank Holiday period. It is estimated that driver fatigue is a contributory factor in as many as 1 in 5 driver deaths in Ireland every year. Furthermore, tiredness-related collisions are 3 times more likely to be fatal or result in a serious injury because of the high impact speed and lack of avoiding action.

To help drivers stay alert behind the wheel, the RSA and Applegreen will provide free cups of coffee to drivers between 2pm and 8pm on Friday 29 April and Monday 2 May.  Simply say 'RSA' or 'Driver Reviver' to the till operator to avail of a free coffee.

To combat the effects of driver fatigue, the RSA advises drivers to:


Michael Rowland, Director of Road Safety Research and Driver Education, Road Safety Authority said: "Bank holiday weekends are a high risk period for road-users as there are typically more people on the roads, travelling greater distances. Therefore the potential to become tired while driving is increased. Our advice is to pull over as soon as you start to feel tired - don't think that you can shake it off by opening the window or turning up the radio, you can't. Pull over, drink a caffeinated drink and take a 15 minute nap. When you wake up, the caffeine should have taken effect, allowing you to drive for another hour or so."

Joe Barrett, Chief Operations Officer, Applegreen said: "We are delighted to partner with the Road Safety Authority on this important initiative to help drivers combat the effects of driver fatigue. Since this partnership started, Applegreen has provided thousands of free cups of coffee to drivers throughout the country, helping to reduce the incidences of driver fatigue on our roads. Road safety is very important to us, so we are proud to be involved in any intervention that contributes to safer drivers and safer roads."