Aims to put global road safety on G8 agenda and raise public awareness

“To Make Poverty History, we must Make Roads Safer. Roads deaths are a global epidemic on the scale of Malaria and Tuberculosis, and G8 leaders must do more to tackle road safety in developing countries.”

This was the message from the international Commission for Global Road Safety in London yesterday, as it published its report ‘Make Roads Safe’ with a demand for urgent action.

The independent commission, an initiative of the FIA Foundation, was set up to report on implementation of the 2004 World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention and to propose an action plan. The body is chaired by former NATO chief Lord Robertson, with members from each G8 country including 7-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher for Germany and Shigeo Watanabe, former President of Bridgestone Corporation for Japan.

Urgent action for a global epidemic

“The commission’s report aims to focus government and public attention on the road traffic accident epidemic that claims the lives of more than 1.2 million people and injures around 50 million annually” said Mr Watanabe (at the London launch). “The objectives correspond with Bridgestone’s own mission “serving society with superior quality” which signifies our commitment to contribute to society, as a member of the automobile-related industry. We are very proud to be invited to represent Japan on this commission.”

Road crashes hit the poorest countries and poorest people hardest. The annual cost in low- and middle-income countries – where 85% of casualties occur and are forecast to almost double by 2020 – is estimated at between $65 billion and $100 billion, compared with official overseas aid of $106 billion in 2005.  Only HIV/AIDS is a bigger killer of young men globally. Faced with this urgent need for resources, the commission calls for specific action:

• G8 countries must support a $300 million , 10-year Action Plan to improve road safety in developing countries;
• Road projects in developing countries funded with overseas development aid must include a minimum 10% for tangible road safety improvements;
• A U.N. Road Safety summit – the first ever such meeting – must be convened to coordinate an international approach to road traffic injury prevention.

Effective safety measures while preserving the benefits of mobility

To promote the messages in the report, the Commission is launching a ‘Make Roads Safe’ campaign to put road safety on the G8 political agenda and raise awareness of the issue amongst younger people around the world.

Commenting on this, Mr Watanabe referred to Bridgestone’s very positive recent experience with the global road safety campaign ‘Think Before You Drive’, a joint initiative with the FIA Foundation and national motoring clubs in over 60 countries that started in 2005.  “The challenge we take is to preserve the benefits of mobility that millions have enjoyed during the last 50 years, whilst also highlighting actions that take just a few seconds but could save lives.”

                                            High cost of neglecting tyre care

 “Together with tyre dealers and motoring clubs, we have promoted the Think Before You Drive campaign by educating individual drivers at public places to wear a seatbelt, adjust their head restraint, use child seats and check their tyre condition” said Mr Watanabe. “Tyres are often one of the safety elements most ignored by the general public. Many people underestimate the safety importance of tyres and remain unaware of the simple maintenance necessary.”

At the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, Bridgestone and the FIA Foundation held a joint press conference to highlight that the campaign’s inspection activity in Europe in 2005 showed that 1 in 8 vehicles are at high risk from poor tyre maintenance and under inflation, and that $5 billion worth of tyres and $10 billion worth of fuel are wasted annually as a direct result.

Educating children on road safety

With 500 children dying every day on the roads worldwide, and thousands more disabled or injured, Bridgestone has also been encouraging children to think about road safety. An annual Europe-wide art contest themed on future road safety, attracted more than 33,000 entries in 2006.

As David Ward, FIA Foundation Director General, said in London: “Unless we make roads safe in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, a whole generation will suffer the human tragedy and economic cost of rising road deaths. If we are to Make Poverty History, we must Make Roads Safe.”

www.makeroadssafe.org

www.thinkbeforeyoudrive.com

www.safetyatheart.com

Media information: Eirik Lien 23 14 36 00