You will have to be patient if you are driving this Saturday. Bison Futé sees red in the direction of departures and even black in the South-East, at the start of the weekend of August 15. The gendarmes of Mayenne are mobilizing, but not only to carry out repression. At the La Gravelle toll on the A81 motorway, on the Ille-et-Vilaine border, the gendarmerie has several stands. Particular emphasis is placed on the risk of falling asleep at the wheel. An increased risk by the high temperatures of the moment.
The break, the only weapon against fatigue
Putting on the air conditioning or opening the window of your car is not enough to keep you awake, explains Lionel Rottiers, ambassador at Vinci Autoroutes. “There is nothing that stops fatigue. The only solution for that is to stop every two hours. Take a short break of twenty minutes, we get out of the car, we stretch, and then we can go back“explains the professional.
To better understand the ravages of drowsiness, the gendarmes don distorting glasses to voluntary users. An obstacle course is in front of them. Gurvan, 18, will pass the driving license in a few weeks. “It was really special. I took the helm. However, I did everything to avoid it. I couldn’t see at all. I’m going to pass my code soon and it’s always better to experience this kind of situation before“says the future driver.
Beside him his dad, Grégory. The family arrives from Val d’Oise. “The road has already taken members of our family away from us, so it inevitably raises awareness. And _unfortunately, me, when I got my license, I was not an example_. But I very quickly understood through friends who unfortunately also experienced dramas that our behavior had to change“.
Cold but not ice cold water
And the choice of the La Gravelle toll is no coincidence, explains the captain of the gendarmerie Jérôme Avrillon. “We are in an accident-prone area, often linked to the problem of fatigue. This is a route taken by Parisians. Here we are actually 2h30 from the capital“explains the captain. To avoid fatigue as much as possible, the gendarmes also advise drinking fresh water, but not ice water!
The importance of a security corridor
Next to the police stand, Vinci Autoroute makes motorists aware of respecting distances with their intervention vehicles. There are still too many accidents, regrets Lionel Rottiers, the company’s ambassador. “We have one intervention vehicle per week hit on the network, it’s terrible. 33 since the beginning of the year. The only solution is to use the security corridor. When driving on a two or three lane road, you swerve when there is a response vehicle on the right. A free lane is left between the intervention vehicle and the other vehicles“insists Lionel Rottiers.