M - Motormännens Riksförbund

Activity
The Swedish Automobile Association (Motormännens Riksförbund) organises 125,000 motorists in Sweden. The Swedish Automobile Association promotes individual mobility in an environmental friendly way with a high level of road safety. Within the 37 local club voluntary members promote road safety and mobility locally. The head office is located in Stockholm, with 29 employees.

Commitment

Approximately 40 per cent of all road traffic accidents in Sweden are caused by drowsiness or fatigue driving. 1/3 of all adults also have some kind of sleeping problem. In addition about 150,000 drivers suffer from sleep apnoea, leading to a constant level of tiredness during day time. Consequently, leading to a lower alert level and an increased crash risk.
 
For the next three years, the Swedish Automobile Association will carry out a raising awareness campaign about the risk of fatigue while driving:
 
The Swedish Automobile Association will inspect each year approximately 60 resting areas in 21 counties in order to improve the resting areas' standard and therefore increase the number of drivers taking a break from driving in order to prevent drowsiness and fatigue driving. The inspections are carried out by the Swedish Automobile Association's members, educated by staff from the Swedish Automobile Association.
 
For the inspections a form is used to fill in the results. The results are later compiled for each county and for the country as a whole; there a ranking list is set up.
 
Combined with the inspections the members inform drivers about the risks of fatigue driving and tips to avoid the risk of fatigue driving. The information will be both oral and communicated through distribution of leaflets in the resting areas (approximately 1.000).
 
The results from the test will be made public through media reports and in the Swedish Automobile Association's club magazine Motor - combined with information on the risks of fatigue driving and actions to undertake to prevent drowsiness. Throughout the year, articles aiming at raising awareness about this issue will regularly be published.