Stories from the road
These are real crashes in which a court, an investigation or the authorities linked what happened to a driver’s fatigue or falling asleep. We share them to show how quickly drowsiness can turn a routine journey into a tragedy, and why stopping to rest matters.
Nigeria
A trailer carrying goods and 48 occupants crashed on its own in the early hours and overturned. The FRSC said preliminary findings attributed the crash to driver fatigue.
Source: Daily Trust (opens in a new tab)
United Kingdom
A taxi driver who had driven around 53 hours in three days drifted into a layby and struck a man who had stopped there to rest. In-car footage showed the driver experiencing microsleeps.
Source: TaxiPoint (opens in a new tab)
Nigeria
A bus carrying Kano State's athletes home from the National Sports Festival went off a bridge after travelling through the night. The FRSC said fatigue and excessive speed might have caused the crash.
Source: Al Jazeera (opens in a new tab)
Nigeria
A bus travelling overnight from Abuja to Benin collided head-on with a truck and caught fire, killing everyone on board. The FRSC said the driver may have dozed off.
Nigeria
A car crossed the median, knocked down a street light and hit a loaded cement truck head-on. Ogun State's traffic agency said the driver had been sleeping behind the wheel.
United States
On a wet winter morning, a box truck crossed the centre line and hit an oncoming bus carrying workers. Federal investigators found the truck driver's fatigue was the probable cause.
Source: NTSB (opens in a new tab)
Nigeria
A bus collided with a trailer at dawn on the Kwali–Abaji road, killing 17 people. The FRSC said investigations showed the crash happened because of speeding and fatigue.
United States
Shortly before 1am, a tractor-trailer failed to slow for stopped traffic in a work zone and struck a limo van, setting off a six-vehicle crash. Investigators found the truck driver had not slept before starting work.
Source: NTSB (opens in a new tab)
United States
A motorcoach carrying 58 passengers overnight to New York left the road and overturned. Investigators found the driver had fallen asleep because of fatigue.
Source: NTSB (opens in a new tab)
United Kingdom
A Land Rover left the M62 and came to rest on the railway below, where it was struck by a passenger train that then collided with a freight train. The motorist was convicted after the court heard he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
We only include a crash when a court, an official investigation, the police or a road-safety authority linked it to driver fatigue or sleep. Each story says how firm that finding is, and links to the reports it’s based on. Summaries are our own, and we leave out the names of the people involved.
No app can make it safe to keep driving while tired. Drowzy is an extra layer of awareness; the real remedy for drowsiness is to stop somewhere safe and rest.
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