Ireland: Applegreen gives away free coffee to combat road mishap

Irish gas station chain Applegreen has partnered with the country’s Road Safety Authority to prevent driver’s fatigue, one of the leading causes of road accidents, by offering free coffee to drivers at Applegreen service stations nationwide.

The partnership, as reported by HGVIreland.com, has been running for four years and has distributed thousands of cups of coffee over the May Bank holiday weekend when significant number of accidents has been registered.

Between 2010 - 2015, 17 people died and 48 were seriously injured over the May Bank Holiday period. One out of five driver deaths in Ireland is caused by driver’s fatigue.

Free coffee will be given between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday 29 April and Monday 02 May. Motorists have to say ‘RSA’ or ‘Driver Reliever’ to the till operator to avail of the free coffee.

Drinking a caffeinated beverage is part of the advice of Michael Rowland, Director of Road Safety Research and Driver Education, Road Safety Authority to prevent road accident.

“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.”