Bridgestone Raising Awareness of Road Safety

Bridgestone is stepping up efforts to build support for the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) Foundation’s “Make Roads Safe” campaign, creating public attention and collecting petitions at F1 Grand Prix races and other events. The aim is to keep up the pressure on politicians and get road safety onto the G8 and UN agendas in 2007.

Recent special events include a high-profile presence at the Helsinki City Grand Prix (12th August), where an estimated 60,000 Finns saw Jarno Trulli race 6 laps in an F1 car around the city streets before testing the Bridgestone seat-belt simulator. Away from race tracks and special events, public awareness and support have been boosted by Bridgestone’s regular tyre checks with the motoring public, conducted throughout Europe as part of the joint FIA Foundation/Bridgestone global road safety campaign “Think Before You Drive”.

Bridgestone has been energetically supporting “Make Roads Safe” since the Commission for Global Road Safety issued its report and action plan in June 2006. Bridgestone road safety booths and seat-belt simulator demonstrations at F1 Grand Prix events in the UK, France, Germany and Hungary have helped build public awareness as well as adding thousands of petitions to the campaign’s online recruitment of support. The signed petitions include email addresses, enabling the FIA Foundation to update supporters with progress and developments. Bridgestone’s support will continue at the Monza GP, Italy, from 7th to 10th September.

Road accidents claim 3,000 lives a day worldwide, including a child every 3 minutes. The “Make Roads Safe” campaign aims to create public awareness and mobilise support for putting road safety on the political agenda, including the G8 2007 summit in Germany and a UN summit to secure high-level political commitment to a specific action plan.

It was drawn up by the international Commission for Global Road Safety, an independent body with a commissioner from each G8 country, including former-Bridgestone president Mr Shigeo Watanabe from Japan, and seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher for Germany.

“Think Before You Drive” is a worldwide road safety campaign initiated jointly by the FIA Foundation, Bridgestone and national motoring clubs. Activity concentrates on simple safety measures, including correct tyre care, that only take a few seconds but could save a life.