Road Safety Day 2012

INT -28 June 2012 - Prague, Czech Republic -

On 28 June, over 15 000 people gathered in Wenceslas Square (Prague) on the occasion of the Road safety Day organised by the Czech Ministry of Transport and UAMK (Central Automobile Club of the Czech Republic), national member of FIA (Federation International de l'Automobile). This large public event aimed to increase awareness of safe driving as well as the European emergency call system eCall, whose implementation was given the support of the European Parliament in a vote on 3 July.  

Among the attendees, Olga Sehanlova - Member of the European Parliament and Rapporteur of the Internal Market Committee - actively participated in the event. The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Jiri Zak, also stressed the importance of this event and shared with ERTICO his view on eCall. In the afternoon, Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher and FIA President Jean Todt took the floor and advocated the adoption of the FIA's 10 Golden Rules for safer driving.

During the day, the public had the opportunity to be involved in several safety related activities and demonstrations. The event featured a specialised eSafety truck for major natural disasters, a motorised sled that encourages seat-belt use by simulating the feeling of being involved in a road traffic accident, and a rollover crash simulator. The public also saw how the roadside accident assistance services extricate injured people from crashed vehicles. In the context of the campaign "No drugs, No alcohol", brave volunteers drove a tricycle wearing goggles that simulate a situation where the sight and perception of reality are altered after heavy drinking.

At the stand of the European funded projects iCar Support and HeERO, simulators demonstrated how eCall works and the GSA gave a glimpse of new in-vehicle technologies.

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