WORLD RALLY STAR HIGHLIGHTS SAFETY MESSAGE IN AUSTRALIA

Friday, 09 September 2011 18:15

Written by C K SENTHILKUMARAN

World rally star Mikko Hirvonen (Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team) showed his support for the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign ahead of the start of Rally Australia, joining 15-17 year old students from the Coffs Harbour High School to talk about the importance of safe driving.

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) ‘Ignition’ programme is part of the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign and is a pre-license road safety initiative aimed at educating youngsters prior to them getting behind the wheel. It directly addresses issues such as driver attitude and vehicle dynamics, helping young people to be better equipped to become road users and more aware of their responsibilities.

“We are very appreciative of Mikko taking the time during a recce day to come and talk to our young prospective drivers,” said Andrew Papadopoulos, President of CAMS. “They should be focused on the right attitude to driving from a young age and then understand there is a place for competition and safe driving on the public roads. Mikko is a role model and for him to talk about safe road practices is great.”

Mikko Hirvonen added: “It is important the drivers of tomorrow are taught the rules of the road and how to drive safely. There is no better time to instil that information than when they are this age. I hope they leave understanding a little more about the need to have an awareness of the importance of driving safely.”

Collectively, the students commented: “We now realise you have to stick to the rules, and in particular have an awareness of distractions around you. We can’t think nothing bad will happen to us; we are the same as everyone else on the road. The talk we had from the CAMS Ignition staff was definitely really useful.”

The Action for Road Safety campaign sees the FIA’s global family working together and drawing on its unique resources and reserves to unleash a wave of support to help reduce traffic related deaths and injuries worldwide. In 2010, road accidents resulted in the deaths of 1.3 million people worldwide and injuries to nearly 50 million more. It is estimated that in 2020 there will be 1.9 million road deaths. CAMS, along with the FIA clubs worldwide, are showing their support for the campaign, addressing potential road safety problems in their country.

The FIA’s Action for Road Safety supports the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, an initiative that aims to stabilise and then reduce the number of deaths on the road. The goal is to save five million lives in 10 years and the FIA’s campaign has already received support from across the motoring and motor sport spectrum.