Circadian Adapted
This website adapts color temperature to your local time, reducing blue light exposure during evening hours.
Awareness Behind the Wheel
ENITFRDE
Drive Awake Awareness Behind the Wheel driveawake.ch

Drive Awake

Awareness Behind the Wheel

A question about sleep, attention and what happens when we're not fully there. Drive Awake is a Swiss project — a documentary, a platform and an awareness campaign — built on science and made by filmmakers. We don't have all the answers. We're in the middle of finding them.

Drowsy driving is involved in up to 33% of serious road accidents — but leaves no trace at the scene. No test. No measurement. No accountability. Drive Awake exists in that gap.

What is Drive Awake?

Drive Awake is a Swiss national initiative (2024-2028+) addressing drowsy driving through scientifically grounded awareness. We combine:

Documentary

Documentary (2025-2027)

Feature film exploring sleep science and road safety through expert interviews and human stories.

Platform

Platform (2026 Launch)

Educational content ecosystem with research archive and public awareness materials.

Research

Research Partnerships

Scientific collaboration with sleep medicine institutes and traffic safety organizations.

Goal: Reduce drowsy driving accidents through scientific understanding and public awareness.

Sleep Science

Sleep disorders & road safety

Sleep is not a passive state. Scientific research has identified numerous disorders that directly affect attention, perception, decision-making and driving safety. Drive Awake explores these themes through expert interviews, research and documentary production.

Road Safety · Priority Focus

Drowsy Driving

One of the leading invisible causes of road accidents. Reduced vigilance impairs reflexes and decision-making comparably to alcohol — yet cannot be measured at accident scenes.

Impact: Up to 33% of accidents may involve sleep deprivation. Vastly underreported due to diagnostic limitations.

Expert: Prof. Mauro Manconi (EOC) · Dr. Michael Scholz (IRM Zürich)
Circadian Science · Emerging

Social Jet Lag

The chronic conflict between the biological clock and modern schedules. Work, school, artificial light and technology can profoundly alter circadian rhythms.

Impact: Contributes to chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment and increased road risk — particularly among shift workers and young adults.

Discussed at: World Sleep Forum 2025 · Monte Verità, Ascona
Forensic Sleep Medicine

Sexsomnia

Automatic sexual behaviors during sleep without consciousness or memory. A growing subject of scientific and medico-legal attention.

Impact: Raises fundamental questions on consciousness, volition and responsibility — core fields of Drive Awake's scientific inquiry.

Expert: Prof. Carlos H. Schenck · University of Minnesota

Further topics in development

MicrosleepREM Sleep Behavior DisorderSleep DeprivationNarcolepsySleep ParalysisInsomniaHypersomniaCircadian Rhythm DisorderSleep ApneaParasomniaLucid DreamingCognitive Fatigue

An invisible problem on Swiss roads

Up to 33% of serious road accidents may involve sleep deprivation. Yet drowsiness, unlike alcohol, leaves no trace at accident scenes. It cannot be measured, prosecuted or counted. The real number is likely higher. It just can't be verified.

33%of serious accidents may involve sleepiness (EOC/IRM estimate)
0reliable field tests exist to measure drowsiness at accident scenes
24hwithout sleep produces impairment equivalent to 0.10% blood alcohol

Source: EOC Neurocentro (Prof. Manconi), IRM Zürich (Dr. Scholz), Swiss Federal Roads Office, European Sleep Research Society.

Recent Updates

June 2026
IRM Zürich · Peer-reviewed · FVS-funded

Sleep deprivation now detectable in saliva

Researchers at IRM Zürich (University of Zurich) have identified a "sleepiness fingerprint" in saliva — a set of metabolites that change measurably after 24 hours without sleep or four nights of restricted sleep. The study uses machine learning on oral fluid metabolomics and achieves 90% precision with just 12 molecular markers.

Drive Awake is a partner of this research programme, supported by FVS.

Journal of Proteome Research ↗ ACS Press Release ↗ DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5c01064

Drive Awake is a partner of this research programme, supported by FVS.

May 2026
Campaign

Drive Awake social media campaign launching — multilingual content across Instagram and LinkedIn (DE/FR/IT/EN).

April 2026
IRM Zürich · Laboratory Visit

Dr. Michael Scholz (IRM Zürich) coordinated a full visit to the IRM Zürich laboratories at the University of Zurich. Drive Awake documented the facilities — forensic medicine, sleep research, metabolomics — deepening the scientific partnership at the core of the project.

March 2026
Communication · Partnership

Drive Awake begins collaboration with Dotwords — a digital communication agency supporting the social media campaign across all four language channels.

January 2026
Infrastructure · NAS

Drive Awake NAS system operational. The shared storage infrastructure is now active with scientific partners, enabling secure collaboration on documentary material and research data.

November 2025
Science

World Sleep Forum, Monte Verità — documentary interviews with leading sleep researchers on circadian biology and driving risk.

September 2025
Partnership

IRM Zürich partnership established — research collaboration on sleep biomarkers and forensic applications begins.

July 26, 2016 — 10th Anniversary 2026
Case Reference · Sleep Apnoea · A2 Gotthard

Quinto — When sleepiness had no name and no test

On the A2 near Quinto, Ticino, a truck rear-ended a stationary car in a queue. An entire German family — father, mother and two daughters aged 8 and 12 — was killed instantly. The driver, Italian-Romanian, survived but was left in a wheelchair.

A court sleep study confirmed severe obstructive sleep apnoea — a condition the driver had been unaware of. He was acquitted. No recklessness. No alcohol. This case is one of the reasons Drive Awake exists. July 26, 2026 marks ten years.

IRM Zürich — New Scientific Collaboration

Since September 2025

Drive Awake collaborates with the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich (IRM Zürich), a leading research center in traffic medicine and forensic science.

This partnership focuses on understanding the complex relationship between sleepiness, sleep deprivation, biomarkers and driving performance, contributing essential scientific perspectives to the Drive Awake documentary and platform.

  • Partnership with Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich
  • Research focus: sleepiness, biomarkers, sleep deprivation and traffic medicine
  • Contributing to the scientific foundation of Drive Awake 2025-2027

The Documentary

A project on sleep, attention and what we miss — in production now

Drive Awake is in active production across Switzerland and Europe. The project follows scientists, forensic experts, road safety professionals and individuals navigating the same invisible risk — on the road and in everyday life.

The format is open. Feature documentary, episodic series, television — we're not attached to a screen. The story will find its format. What matters is the investigation.

Co-directed by Matteo Fieni and Kevin Merz. In production since 2025. Release window: late 2027.

Campaign

Public Awareness Campaign

A progressive multilingual communication campaign translating sleep science into public awareness, social dialogue and safer mobility.

Community PhaseQ2 2026↓

Building a community of reference before the full campaign. Multilingual content across Instagram and LinkedIn — EN, IT, FR, DE — focused on presence, sleep science and human stories. No shock, no urgency. Calm, regular, credible.

  • Social media presence across 4 languages
  • Scientific content adapted for general audiences
  • Documentary backstage and production updates
  • Coordinated distribution across institutional and digital channels
Full CampaignQ3 2026↓

Structured awareness campaign with 24 narrative clips — short-form documentary content distributed across social platforms and institutional channels. Each clip translates one scientific insight into a human moment.

  • 24 awareness clips (15–60 seconds)
  • Partner distribution via ACS, RoadCross, FVS network
  • Press and institutional outreach
  • Survey integration for impact measurement
Channels & LanguagesEN · IT · FR · DE↓

Each platform carries content calibrated to its audience. Language follows objective — not all content is translated into all languages. Cultural adaptation is part of the editorial process.

  • Instagram — visual, filmmaking process, scientific observation
  • LinkedIn — institutional credibility, research updates, partners
  • Facebook — Swiss community, awareness, sharing (Q3 2026)
  • YouTube — documentary clips, extended content (Q3 2026)
Partners & DistributionSwitzerland · Europe↓

Drive Awake distributes through institutional partners — road safety organisations, scientific institutions and media — to reach beyond social media audiences. Particularly relevant for shift workers, professional drivers and young adults.

  • ACS (Automobil Club der Schweiz)
  • Polizia Cantonale Ticino / Strade Sicure
  • RoadCross Schweiz
  • FVS (Fonds für Verkehrssicherheit)
  • EOC Neurocentro · IRM Zürich
Our claim — in four languages ↓

Drive Awake communicates in four languages. Each has its own claim — not a translation, but a distinct positioning reflecting the culture and context of each audience.

🌐 English
Awareness Behind the Wheel

English is the international axis of Drive Awake 2.0. A position, not a slogan.

🇮🇹 Italiano
Consapevolezza al Volante

"Consapevolezza" carries more than awareness — an active, embodied knowing. For the Italian-speaking Swiss audience, a cultural value.

🇫🇷 Français
Science du sommeil au volant

The French claim leads with science — anchored in the tradition of rigorous public health communication.

🇩🇪 Deutsch
Schlafwissenschaft am Steuer

"Schlafwissenschaft" — sleep science — positions the project as a field of knowledge, not a campaign.

Campaign preview — four languages ↓

The visual campaign across all four language channels. Each cover translates the claim into its cultural context.

Awareness Behind the Wheel
Awareness Behind the Wheel
English · International
Consapevolezza al Volante
Consapevolezza al Volante
Italiano · Svizzera italiana
Science du sommeil au volant
Science du sommeil au volant
Français · Suisse romande
Schlafwissenschaft am Steuer
Schlafwissenschaft am Steuer
Deutsch · Deutschschweiz
Campaign · Four languages
Awareness Behind the Wheel EN
Consapevolezza al Volante IT
Science du sommeil au volant FR
Schlafwissenschaft am Steuer DE

Who we are

Drive Awake is a project by Matteo Fieni and Opening. We're not scientists — we're a production house who got drawn into a question about sleep, attention and what happens on the road when we're not really there. Kevin Merz co-directs the documentary.

Matteo Fieni

Director & Producer

Swiss Photo Award 2012. Conceived Drive Awake through Opening. Leads creative, editorial and strategic direction.

matteofieni.ch ↗

Kevin Merz

Documentary Co-Director

Swiss filmmaker. Sundance, MoMA, Locarno Piazza Grande. Co-directs the Drive Awake documentary.

kevinmerz.info ↗

Opening

Production House

20+ years of visual production. Creative and operational framework of Drive Awake.

opening.ch ↗
A note on language

Why four languages?

Drive Awake was born in Switzerland — which means it was born in three languages: Italian, French and German. These are the languages of our country, our institutions and our first audiences.

But Swiss roads don't carry only Swiss traffic.

Every day, vehicles from Germany, France, Italy, Austria and across Europe cross our borders. The A2 motorway through the Gotthard is one of the busiest transit corridors in Europe. Sleepiness at the wheel has no nationality — and the language of international road safety, like the language of sleep medicine and forensic science, is English.

We added English not as a concession, but as a necessity. Drive Awake 2.0 exists because the conversation had to become international.

We maintain all four languages for as long as we can. If you'd like to support translation or localisation in your language, write to us.

🇮🇹ItalianoSwiss official 🇫🇷FrançaisSwiss official 🇩🇪DeutschSwiss official 🌐EnglishInternational · Drive Awake 2.0

Production Ecosystem

Drive Awake 2.0 is the enhanced infrastructure vision — a structured system for producing, transforming and distributing sleep science content across platforms. From documentary footage to platform assets, from research partnerships to public awareness.

How the system works↓

Three levels: Source (documentary + research + field experience) → Transformation (editing, Generative Center, multilingual adaptation) → Distribution (social, platform, partners, institutions). The editorial direction remains central and undelegated.

Evaluation Survey

Drive Awake is part of an official evaluation process conducted by intervista AG, Switzerland's leading research institute. The survey takes about 10 minutes and helps measure public awareness around fatigue, sleep and road safety.

Be part of the official evaluation

intervista AG is conducting an official study on drowsy driving awareness. Your 10 minutes directly strengthen the scientific foundation of Drive Awake.

Take the survey

DE

Deine Meinung zählt!

Schon mal müde am Steuer gesessen? Investiere 10 Minuten und hilf mit, Leben zu schützen.

Jetzt teilnehmen

FR

Ton avis compte !

T'es-tu déjà retrouvé fatigué au volant ? Consacre 10 minutes et aide-nous à sauver des vies.

Participe dès maintenant

IT

La tua opinione conta!

Ti è mai capitato di metterti al volante quando eri stanco? Dedica 10 minuti e aiutaci a salvare vite umane.

Partecipa ora
QR Code Survey intervista AG

Scan to participate

Partners & Supporters

Scientific Partners
IRM Zürich
IRM Zürich Institute of Forensic Medicine — University of Zurich
↗
EOC Neurocentro
EOC Neurocentro Sleep medicine research and clinical expertise
↗
European Sleep Foundation
European Sleep Foundation International sleep science network
↗
Road Safety & Institutions
FVS
FVS Swiss Road Safety Fund — main project funder
↗
ACS
ACS Automobile Club of Switzerland
↗
RoadCross Schweiz
RoadCross Schweiz Road safety awareness and prevention
↗
Strade Sicure
Strade Sicure Polizia Cantonale Ticino — road safety project Progetto Strade Sicure
↗
Production & Communication
Opening
Opening Creative production and project direction
↗
Generative Center
Generative Center Visual production and content generation
↗
Dotwords
Dotwords Campaign agency — social strategy and content
↗

Follow the project

Drive Awake is active on Instagram and LinkedIn in four languages.

Instagram
🌐
@drive.awake International
↗
Also in
🇮🇹 @driveawake.ch.it ↗🇫🇷 @driveawake.ch.fr ↗🇩🇪 @driveawake.ch.de ↗
LinkedIn
🌐
Drive Awake International
↗
Also in
🇮🇹 Drive Awake IT ↗🇫🇷 Drive Awake FR ↗🇩🇪 Drive Awake DE ↗
Facebook Coming Q3 2026
YouTube Coming Q3 2026

Stay updated

Documentary progress, platform launch, scientific findings, campaign updates. No noise — just what matters.

Your email app will open — send the message to confirm. We send occasional updates only.

Contact

Your email client will open to send your message

Stay Updated

Circadian-Adaptive Interface

This website implements circadian-responsive design: typography color temperature and visual elements automatically adapt based on your local time zone, reducing blue light exposure during evening hours to support healthy sleep patterns.

This approach follows the same circadian neuroscience principles central to Drive Awake's drowsy driving prevention research, demonstrating our commitment to scientifically grounded health practices.

10 minutes to help save lives.
Official evaluation · intervista AG · Anonymous
Take the official survey →