The communication platform, called eSafetyAware!, brings together automotive suppliers, automotive clubs, road safety authorities, road operators, the insurance industry and service providers. The European Commission is participating in the platform as an observer.

The announcement of the new platform was made at a high-level meeting of the Commission's i2010 initiative - a European Information Society for growth and jobs - in Helsinki 28 September 2006.

FIA Foundation Chairman Rosario Alessi commented: “Intelligent vehicle systems can make a major contribution in solving our most pertinent transport problem, namely road safety, where Europe still has more than 41,000 deaths per year. It is our job to get these systems to the users as quickly as possible. This is why FIA Foundation has taken the lead in the new platform for promoting user awareness. We will work together with partners that share our vision and launch campaigns starting from ESC next year. These systems save lives, but you need to know they exist to ask for them."

Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission, responsible for Information Society and Media, added: "We have for a long time emphasised the importance of user awareness in the take-up of the new car safety technologies. Now we have concrete evidence that users' knowledge of new technologies needs improving. This is why I welcome the launch of this new platform for promoting user awareness."

The drive will kick off with the launch of a pan-European information campaign on Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in 2007. ESC has proved highly effective in preventing skidding, with estimates showing that it could reduce the risk of accidents by as much as 20 per cent. Further campaigns will be launched at a later stage, with each campaign focusing on one high-priority eSafety technology with a proven impact on road safety.

Click here to download Viviane Reding’s speech