The causes of accidents combine several factors but there is almost always a component related to the behaviour of the road user: overspeed, alcohol, reckless crossing, ... The LAB studies identify these factors with detailed analyses of accidents.
Other studies show the force of habits, education, or a misunderstanding of the reasons on which road safety advices are bases. For example, it has been shown in the CASPER[ii] project that 70% of children are not attached or are poorly attached in the car in Europe.
What are the different types of actions implemented by Renault to improve road safety?
Road safety implemented by Renault is based on a comprehensive 5-point approach: awareness, prevention, correction, protection and rescue.
- Raise awareness, to make everyone contribute to the prevention of road risk.
- Prevent, by developing equipment to alert the driver or make driving easier.
- Correct, offering driving aids for difficult or emergency conditions without replacing the driver.
- Protect, ensuring optimized protection for all road users.
- Rescue, contribute to the optimization of emergency service car for the injured.
As far as awareness is concerned, Renault is active for its employees but also more widely for all road users starting with children.
In this context, how do you see the place of the Safety and Mobility For All programme?
The Safety and Mobility For All programme has been designed to help young people get around their road environment safely. For children, it aims to understand the important road signs and to give them the basics of road safety as pedestrians and as cyclists. Then the programme adapts to provide them with useful knowledge according to their age. It offers educational tools that allow effective coaching by the teacher.
As a member of the jury of the international competition Your Ideas Your Initiatives, what message would you like to send to the young participants?
The international contest "Your ideas Your Initiatives" is a wonderful opportunity to contribute to road safety and sustainable mobility, and to motivate people around you. The stakes are huge, and every action is important. The fact is that there are 1.35 million people killed every year on the roads in the world and between 20 and 50 million injured. All efforts are useful in combating the scourge of road safety while ensuring the mobility of all.
The involvement of everyone has become a necessity if we want to save lives. These are the drops of water that make the oceans.
What memories will you have of the International Road Safety Awards, where you received an award from Prince Michael of Kent?
The awards ceremony is both very moving and very stimulating.
Very moving because this ceremony gives the opportunity to meet other people particularly motivated for road safety. In fact, each is strongly committed to local, national or international actions with the determination to save lives.
Very stimulating because the will of many people directed towards the same end goal is encouraging and energizing for the pursuit of actions to improve road safety.
The road accident should not be considered a fatality. We must keep in mind that it is preventable. To see the efforts made by everyone to go in this direction makes you want to redouble your commitment to this cause!
[i] The Laboratory of Accidentology, Biomechanics and Human Behavior Study (Lab) is a group of interest of about fifteen researchers from Renault and PSA. The structure works in particular on autonomous vehicles.
[ii] The CASPER Project (Child Advanced Safety Project for European Roads) was coordinated by the PSA RENAULT RESEARCH AND STUDY GIE and partially funded by the EU.