France President François Hollande was joined by FIA President Jean Todt, as well as the French Minister of the Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, the President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), Pierre Fillon, and local state officials.
They posed for a photo together with the FIA World Endurance Championship’s road safety ambassadors on the track, before the opening of the grid walk, to show the event’s united support of the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign.
The ambassadors, who include LMP1 drivers from Audi, Porsche, Nissan and Toyota, shot a new campaign video released on Friday, in which they are calling to sign the FIA road safety online pledge. This video is the teaser of a series of road safety messages by WEC ambassadors to be unveiled over the next weeks. Click here to view the video.
The FIA Action for Road Safety campaign is also featured all week long at a stand located in the heart of the Le Mans 24 Hours village. Hosted jointly by the FIA, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the local Préfecture de la Sarthe, it showcases global and local road safety key statistics and highlights some of the important steps taken at both levels in a bid to decrease road fatalities.
The FIA is working to raising the public’s awareness of its 10 Golden Rules for safer motoring with over 30,000 leaflets distributed over the week to remind road users of their responsibilities, while also inviting fans to sign and commit to the FIA road safety online pledge at fia.com/pledge.
Jean Todt, President of the FIA and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Road Safety, said: “It is both an honour and a pleasure to receive the support of the President of the Republic for the FIA’s road safety campaign. With 3,500 road fatalities daily, including 500 children, there is a real urgency to improve road safety worldwide. An event like Le Mans provides a perfect occasion to reach the general public and spread the road safety message through the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign.”
Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO, said: “Since the first edition of Le Mans 24 Hours in 1923, road safety has always been at the centre of the ACO’s concerns. Our Club has been training and guiding its members towards safer driving and numerous road safety achievements were initiated, tested and experienced for over 80 years.”
FIA Action for Road Safety campaign
The FIA Action for Road Safety campaign was launched in May 2011 in support of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
It is structured around four key areas:
· Advocacy at the highest levels - the FIA has established working relationships with major international organisations such as the United Nations, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the World Health Organisation, the European Union or the World Bank, advocating for the prioritisation of road safety.
· Action by clubs on the ground - through its club network of 250 clubs in 150 countries, the FIA pushes for safer roads. In 2012 the FIA launched the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme, which funds more than 100 projects in 50 countries.
· Campaigns and partnerships - the FIA has established numerous institutional and commercial partnerships with leading actors, including Coca-Cola, Iveco, Michelin, Nissan, Iveco and Petronas.
· Motor sport & road safety – the motor sport community has been mobilising to promote FIA Action for Road Safety with drivers and key players of our sport accepting to act as ambassadors for the cause. Campaign ambassadors include Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Mark Webber, Patrick Dempsey and Lewis Hamilton.
Every day, 3,500 people die on the world’s roads, including 500 children. Every year, road accidents kill 1.3 million and injure 50 million more. They are the number one killer of 15-29 year olds.
