Schumacher joined Bahrain’s Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to launch the FIA Foundation’s ‘Think Before You Drive’ campaign in the run up to the first Formula One Grand Prix of the season. Webber launched the same campaign in Australia, just before this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

With Bahrain hosting the first Grand Prix of the season for the first time, it used the opportunity to promote safer driving in the region. There are currently three fatal accidents per 10,000 cars every year in Bahrain and the aim is to reduce this figure to one per 10,000.

At a launch attended by over 100 VIP guests and media representatives, the Crown Prince said: “This can only be achieved through imposing stricter penalties for people who break the law, increasing traffic awareness, improving training and focusing on the safest methods of using public roads.”

Shaikh Salman has personally experienced the road safety problems in Bahrain following the death of his fifteen-year-old brother in a car crash in January. Shaikh Salman commented: “Having lost a brother just a short time ago I don’t want the same to happen to anyone else.”

As part of the launch, Schumacher demonstrated a seat belt simulator and wrote ‘Think Before You Drive’ in Arabic in front of a poignant display of wrecked cars. He said: “People consider me as role model and it is up to me to be up to their expectations and saving lives is something I truly believe in.”

Also speaking at the launch was Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of the Interior, Shaikh Abdulla Bin Isa Al Kahlifa, President of the Bahrain Motor Federation (BMF), Yujiro Kanahara of Bridgestone and David Ward from the FIA Foundation.

Webber was present as Australia’s motoring clubs launched the Think Before You Drive campaign in Melbourne on 29th March.

Launching the campaign, Webber reiterated its key road safety messages: always wear a seat belt, check your tyre condition, adjust your head restraint and ensure that children are safely restrained in a suitable child seat.

Webber said: “More than one million people are killed every year on roads around the world – in Australia some five people die every day and more than 60 are severely injured as a result of road trauma. Yet we as a public seem to dismiss these figures without even thinking about the human and social tragedy that it is. It is important to stress that every driver, even Formula One drivers, can make mistakes – every driver should be aware of their limitations and not take risks.”

Lauchlan McIntosh, executive director of the Australian Automobile Association, said the campaign was an important part of the motoring club’s road safety project to put safer drivers in safer cars on safer roads. The seat belt message is of particular importance in Australia where the lack of a seat belt features highly in crash statistics. In 80 per cent of all fatal crashes in the Northern Territory in 2005, for example, drivers were not wearing seat belts.

“You can be the best driver in the world”, said McIntosh, “but if you and your passengers aren’t wearing their seat belt you are playing Russian Roulette every time you get in the car.”

The launch came just five days after the campaign was introduced in neighbouring New Zealand.

The New Zealand Automobile Association’s Think Before You Drive campaign was officially launched on 24th March by the country’s Minister for Transport Safety Harry Duynhoven.

Mike Noon, the Association’s general manager for motoring policy, commented: “Think Before You Drive promotes simple road safety messages. It highlights actions that only take a few seconds but could save your life.”

Throughout the campaign the Association plans to give away 100,000 tyre pressure gauges and 250,000 Think Before You Drive road safety information booklets.