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ITU Award goes to President Ueli Maurer of Switzerland, Volkmar Denner of
Bosch and Jean Todt, President of F.I.A.
Felipe Massa, Formula-1 Ferrari driver, simulates road safety
Geneva, 17 May 2013 – The 2013 World Telecommunication and
Information Society Award was presented to three eminent personalities: Mr Ueli
Maurer, President of the Swiss Confederation; Mr Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the
Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH; and Mr Jean Todt, President of the
International Automobile Federation (FIA). The three laureates were honoured in
recognition of their leadership and dedication towards promoting ICTs as a means
of improving road safety.
The theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2013, “ICTs
and Improving Road Safety” is in line with the United Nations “Decade of Action
for Road Safety” which dedicates the period 2011-2020 towards improving global
road safety.
“The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety is dedicated to helping
to make roads and vehicles safer worldwide,” said United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “I commend the International Telecommunication
Union for its work with industry to develop ICT standards and for collaborating
with the International Automobile Federation to create awareness on road
safety.” Mr Ban noted that Hands-free communications mean fewer accidents,
especially among young people who account for more than half of road deaths.
ITU has been leading worldwide efforts in developing state-of-the-art ICT
standards for intelligent transport systems (ITS) and driver safety that utilize
a combination of computers, communications, positioning and automation
technologies, including in-car radars for collision avoidance. ITU has also been
developing standards for safe user interfaces and communication systems in
vehicles as well as optimizing driving performance by eliminating unsafe
technology-related distractions while driving.
“Road traffic safety is a global concern for public health and injury
prevention,” ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said. “Every year, 1.3
million people die in traffic related accidents and another 20-50 million people
are injured mainly in developing countries around the world. As a result,
Governments and individuals suffer an estimated USD 518 billion in global
economic loss.”
Dr Touré’s message was very clear: “Don’t be distracted by technology when
driving, whether calling from your mobile phone, or setting the navigation
system. Sending a text message or tweeting while driving is extremely dangerous
and should be avoided at all cost.”
This message was reiterated emphatically by the three laureates.
Speaking on behalf of President of the Swiss Confederation Ueli Maurer,
Ambassador Alexandre Fasel noted that ICTs are bringing about unimaginable
innovative solutions, especially for communication between vehicles, between
vehicles and infrastructure, as well as so-called "smart" concepts. Yet, the use
of ICTs has the risk of diminishing safety on the roads, such as calling on the
phone, consulting smart phones and exchanging "SMS".
“The world of the information society facilitates the car industry to make
considerable progress in road safety, and in an accelerated manner,” Fasel said.
“Regardless of the great breakthrough of ICT in driving assistance, I think
nothing can replace the education, training and awareness of drivers – and
pedestrians – to behave as responsible citizens on the road.” Accepting the
Award, Mr Volkmar Denner of Bosch noted that the worldwide fatality rate is
rising year by year and said every life lost is one too many. “All over the
world – and this includes the emerging markets in particular – our focus is on
systems for environmental protection, energy efficiency, and safety,” said
Denner. “More powerful safety and driver assistance systems, especially
“predictive safety systems”, are the next technological steps to further
improving road safety.”
Mr Denner explained that predictive safety systems rely on high-resolution
vehicular radar in order to detect obstacles, pedestrians, and other vehicles.
“The allocation of harmonized, globally available frequency ranges for
automotive radar applications is essential, Mr Denner said. “This important
topic is on the agenda of ITU’s World Radio Conference 2015 and is one of the
many areas where Bosch is active as an ITU Sector Member.”
Mr Jean Todt, a former team principal of the Ferrari F-1 team and now
President of the FIA, said: “Road safety remains widely seen as a national
issue, while instead it has become a genuine global challenge. Road safety must
be given the place it deserves on the international agenda: one of major
priority.”
Asserting “we need to find additional resources, which could be used as
catalytic financing to help poor countries face this challenge,” Todt said, “The
international community rightly spends billions of dollars to take up major
issues such as the environment, pandemics, food crisis, and so on. But still far
too little money is pledged by the international community for this battle – in
no way less vital – battle against road accidents. This must change.”
Formula-1 advocates safety: Ferrari’s Felipe Massa revs power for
safe driving
Formula-1 champion driver, Felipe Massa, who drove his 125th Grand Prix for
Ferrari last weekend in Barcelona for a strong podium finish, put his foot down
in a simulator during the ceremony indicating how on board distractions can
affect even the most talented professional driver. Off the track, Massa works
with Brazilian children focusing their energy towards sports. He is also a
strong advocate of FIA’s Action for Road Safety.
Reiterating the tone of all speakers at the ceremony, Monisha Kaltenborn,
team principal of the Switzerland-based Sauber F-1 team said in a pre-taped
video message: “Safety is paramount for Formula-1. Formula-1 is very safety
conscious. It is a trend that has developed over two decades and has led to
higher levels of safety even as speeds have increased.” Emphasizing that
“motorsports is like a high-speed laboratory for car manufacturers that allows
us to use sophisticated materials, technologies and processes which finally
result in components that are lighter, more compact or more efficient”, Ms
Kaltenborn said: “My message on World Telecommunication and Information Society
Day is drive safely. And please don’t text while driving.”
Also present at ITU on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
was Lori Hunt from the Parkview Trauma Centre in Fort Wayne, USA, where she has
been a protagonist of the “Don’t Text and Drive” campaign.
For more information, please see
www.itu.int/en/wtisd/Pages/default.aspx or contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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