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Volvo has been given permission by the Swedish government to let tired drivers take trucks on public roads so it can test its safety systems. The public road test is the final stage of developing the system, which aims to alert drivers if their driving patterns suggest they are getting tired. Other road users do not need to get too nervous. The tired drivers will be accompanied by a back-up driver who can quickly take control  of the vehicle if necessary and a test leader will also be present in the cab.

The roads on which the tired drivers can take the truck are limited and will be marked with rotating warning lamps telling other motorists that a test is under way. Lars-Göran Löwenadler, Volvo's safety director, says: "In order for the tests to be as credible and realistic as possible, we like to drive on actual roads as there is simply no test track that is adequate." Volvo says research indicates that driver fatigue is behind more than 20% of accidents that occur in traffic.