Emirates Driving Institute will focus on road safety and in particular, the use of seatbelts, when it attends Barbican Turbo - the Middle East's custom, tuning and motorsports festival in Abu Dhabi.

The event is being organised by United Business Media from October 8 to 10, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Road safety is a particular concern in the UAE where figures released by the Abu Dhabi Health Authority and the Ministry of Interior indicate 424 people were killed on the roads in Abu Dhabi and a total of 1,071 were killed country-wide in 2008.

To combat this issue the Emirates Driving Institute aims to achieve excellence in the field of driver training and road safety and believes a reduction in road traffic accidents can only be achieved by improving the current skills level and knowledge of the driving population; something which they plan to do while at Barbican Turbo.

'Our focus is on the use of seatbelts; as they are the single most effective piece of safety equipment in a vehicle. All too often though, they are neglected resulting in needless loss of life or injury,' stated Peter Richardson, general manager Technical and Operations, Emirates Driving Institute.

'Barbican Turbo is especially relevant for the Emirates Driving Institute because it directly targets drivers, families, youth and the community as a whole,' added Matt Tarrant, show director of United Business Media's Barbican Turbo festival.

Barbican Turbo will also run alongside Adrenaline Sports Live, presented by Rani for the second year in a row. This is the country's annual meeting for the adventure/adrenaline sports communities, related companies and tourism bodies who want to promote adventure travel in their home country.-TradeArabia News Service