During May, when the FIA launched Action for Road Safety outside the Federation’s headquarters in Paris, the clear intention was to see a worldwide mobilisation of sporting clubs and mobility members. Three months on it’s right to say that the campaign has reached the ends of the earth, with Australia become the latest country to begin work on a project to cut road deaths and injuries.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ), together with V8 Supercars Australia have joined forces to inform and educate, using an innovative, interactive Facebook game, titled V8 Supercars Heroes Challenge. The game is intended to promote road safety by raising awareness of the basic checks that a V8 team performs before a track session– checks that are equally useful for a road car.
The mini-game challenges players to select their team – Ford or Holden – and perform a series of car-related safety tasks as fast as possible, mentored by drivers Garth Tander and Shane Van Gisbergen. The leader board will keep track of who is achieving the best times. Participants can also invite their Facebook friends to challenge times with prizes up for grabs.
The campaign was formally launched at the eighth road of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, the Ipswich 300, held over the weekend of 19-21 August, with the Facebook page prominently displays the FIA’s Action for Road Safety logo. CAMS and RACQ are actively encouraging their members to help spread the road safety message by raising awareness in Australia’s state governments, communities, schools and workplaces by pledging a personal commitment to be safe on the roads. They invite every FIA member club to encourage people to visit the V8 Supercars Heroes Challenge Facebook page at www.facebook.com/V8SCHeroesChallenge to show their support.
Action for Road Safety is the FIA’s response to the challenges raised by the United Nations’ Decade of Action on Road Safety – an overarching campaign intended to prevent five million road deaths and countless injuries in the next ten years. The FIA will task its member clubs from both the sporting and mobility wings of the Federation to carry out ambitious projects to educate, train and raise awareness of road safety issues as part of its commitment to fully support the UN Decade of Action with all the resources at its disposal.