Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Formula One star Michael Schumacher gave their strong personal support to the ‘Think Before You Drive’ campaign in Bahrain on March 9th. At a launch attended by over 100 VIP guests and media representatives, the Crown Prince pointed out that there are three fatal accidents per 100,000 cars every year in Bahrain. “Although these figures have decreased, our aim is to further reduce them to one per 10,000 cars. 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”. For the Crown Prince his commitment to road safety is very personal. His fifteen year old brother was killed in a car crash in Bahrain in January. Shaikh Salman explained that having lost a brother “just a short time ago…I don’t want the same to happen to anyone else.” Thanking everyone involved in the launch the Prince expressed the hope that “the campaign will achieve its desired goals through everyone’s participation and involvement”.
At the launch the seven times world champion Michael Schumacher demonstrated a seat belt simulator and wrote ‘Think Before You Drive’ in Arabic in front of a poignant display of wrecked cars. “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”, he said. 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, Yujiro Kanahara of Bridgestone and David Ward from the FIA Foundation.
Eighty one people were killed on Bahrain’s roads last year with 68% involved aged between 20 and 40 years. The number of drivers wearing seat belts is estimated at just 25%. Shaikh Abdulla, President of the BMF highlighted that the main focus of the campaign in Bahrain will be excess speed, awareness of child safety, child seats, wearing seta belts and tyre conditions. It is hoped that the campaign, together with new road traffic laws, will reduce deaths and injuries by 25%. “We hope to set a legal standard for tyre condition, in addition to increasing traffic violation fines” Shaikh Abdulla explained.