ACCORDING to road safety experts, driver fatigue is a major factor in 25 per cent of serious or fatal accidents.
Drowsiness is dicing with death and staying fresh behind the wheel is the responsibility of the driver - for the sake of all road users.
Stopping every two hours on a long haul to freshen up is sound advice but in these high tech days anything that can be done to keep drivers alert should be a compelling aspect when it comes to choosing a car.
Such a feature is the Lane Departure Warning System developed by Citroen which has just helped the French car maker scoop the What Car? Car of the Year Safety Award.
Fitted to Citroen's C5 range it's a £300 extra and worth its weight in gold.
The system works via sensors mounted under the front of the car which 'read' white lines on the road rather like a bar code scanner at the supermarket.
Stray across the line without giving a signal and the driver's seat vibrates vigorously in the direction of the vehicle's drift.
There is no escaping the warning - and the same will happen if you stray to the left out of your lane.
It works only above 50mph - in other words it is aimed at motorways where most drifting accidents happen - and it also falls into the category of "why hasn't someone thought of that before".
Not surprisingly, the LDWS has helped the C5 achieve five star safety credentials in the NCAP testing programme.
The C5 is now available with a 1.6-litre diesel engine which is specifically designed to keep road tax bills to a minimum.
With CO2 emissions rated at just 142g/km it results in a £115 annual road tax bill for the private buyer or a 16 per cent benefit in kind charge for business users which is £592 per year for basic rate tax payers and £1,077 for higher earners.
It may sound like a small engine to fit in a car as large as the C5 - after all it is a full-blown family sized hatchback - but it does the job in no uncertain terms.
Top speed is a claimed 118mph, 0 to 60 takes 11.3 seconds and there is a useful amount of mid-range power.
More impressive is the 52mpg average fuel consumption which gives a theoretical 700 miles between fill ups.
Equipment levels are high with the mid-range VTR model including dual zone automatic air conditioning and cruise control with an inbuilt speed limiter.
A revised suspension set up has improved handling and the C5 continues to feature Citroen's variable ride height control.
The C5 also scores in terms of practicality with an enormous cargo capacity of 471 litres and that's with all seats occupied.
It is a special car, as any award winner should be, but when it has earned the accolade for such a worthy device it has to be revered.
FAST FACTS
Citroen C5 1.6 HDi VTR
Price: £18,090
Mechanical: 110bhp, 1,560cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 118mph
0-62mph: 11.3 secs
Combined mpg: 52.3
Insurance group: 9
CO2 emissions: 142g/km
BiK rating: 16%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 3yrs paint; 12yrs anti-rust