Anyone who follows grand prix / Formula 1 racing will be aware its governing body is the FIA, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
F1 – and other car based motor sport – is a small part of the FIA's activities, for its main interest is in road safety. It is the FIA which has set the worldwide standard for vehicle crash testing though the EuroNCAP programme and is a global campaigner in promoting awareness and responsibility among all road users, particularly in poorer countries where the number of road causalities is appalling.
Jean Todt is president of the FIA and also the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety – and it was in this capacity he was given the Prince Michael of Kent Award for Road Safety at a ceremony in St Petersburg on 6th December for the creation of the 3500LIVES campaign, which is bringing to the attention of governments and decision makers around the world the unacceptable fact 3,500 people are killed in road accidents every day. One recent success is getting the Vietnamese government to provide every school 'first grader' with a motorcycle helmet.
And why a special mention of this on the South Cambs Conservative Association website? Well, Grenville Chamberlain, our SCDC councillor for Hardwick, was there in his role as chairman of the UK's Caravan & Motorhome Club. Having congratulated Jean Todt, he reported back:
Our Club is a signatory to the 3500LIVES campaign and we have extended and improved our driver training courses and developed an ‘outfit matching service’ which enables members to examine the dynamics of car and caravan enabling them to select a safe combination when buying either a replacement car or caravan.
In addition, we run an annual Tow Car of the Year Awards where we invite manufacturers to submit their vehicles for comprehensive testing both in their ability to handle the materials caravanners may need to carry and their performance on the road in test conditions at Millbrook Proving Ground.
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Grenville Chamberlain
Grenville is District Councillor for Hardwick & Toft
95 Limes Road
Hardwick
CB23 7XN
01954 210 040 / 07764 627 314
