| A number of clubs succeeded in raising awareness about road safety in their local media, whilst in some countries political leaders and ministers gave high profile support to the clubs’ campaigns.
In Japan, the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) launched its nationwide Make Roads Safe campaign to take place from April 23 to May 31. During the campaign, JAF collected thousands of signatures at branch offices and other traffic safety events urging people to support the Make Roads Safe petition.
The Japanese organisation also issued 50,000 Make Roads Safe booklets at its local branch offices. It translated the booklets into Japanese for distribution to companies such as Bridgestone who are supporting the campaign.
In the Philippines, the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) also produced its own version of the Make Roads Safe campaign booklet and distributed 10,000 copies.
AAP sent five thousand postcards to schools across the country which will be forwarded to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in June when the new academic year begins. One thousand school children in Manila also wore the Make Roads Safe T-shirt during the UN week’s activities.
In Germany, Allgmeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC) put together a series of training courses to help young drivers. Its safety training programme allowed new drivers to get to know their limitations when handling their cars in tricky situations. ASAC is also planning a major road safety Conference in June.
In Sweden, a hard hitting campaign called on politicians to invest more in measures to ensure that roads are safe. The Swedish Automobile Association issued a report showing that more than half of the country’s road network is not up to standards.
Alongside this, a second campaign, due for early summer, hopes to draw motorist attention to the risks of falling asleep at the wheel. Tiredness in traffic is as common a cause for accidents as alcohol-related incidents, according to the association.
Meanwhile, the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) and its constituent motoring clubs sent eight delegates to Geneva for UN Road Safety Week. The delegates were well prepared having met with the Australian Minister for Roads and opposition politicians. Delegates also met with the Swiss Touring Club, the FIA Foundation in London and Australia’s ambassador to the UN to maximize networking and learning opportunities while overseas.
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