Emirates Driving Institute (EDI), the largest driving institute in the region, will use the theme of road safety and in particular, the use of seatbelts at an upcoming custom, tuning and motorsports festival in Abu Dhabi.

Barbican Turbo - the Middle East, organised by United Business Media (UBM), a global business media firm, from the 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, EDI 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,” said Peter Richardson, general manager technical and operations, EDI.

“All too often though, they are neglected resulting in needless loss of life or injury.  We are delighted to be able to attend Barbican Turbo and to use it as a way to get our message about road safety to the driving community,” he added.

Information provided by the United Nations Road Safety Group reinforces the claim made by Richardson, stating seat belts save lives. The use of seat-belts by front-seat passengers and drivers in motor vehicles increases road safety and reduces the probability of being killed in crashes in which they would otherwise die by up to 50 per cent.

Matt Tarrant, show director of UBM’s Barbican Turbo festival said: “We are extremely pleased to have the EDI on-board as it allows us to promote road safety as a key message of the event and to reinforce the importance of changing the behaviours of drivers to do this.”

“Barbican Turbo is especially relevant for EDI because it directly targets drivers, families, youth and the community as a whole” he added.

During Barbican Turbo, EDI will have on display their seatbelt convincer, specialist roll-car, headrest restraints, child restraints and tyre display as well as staff to demonstrate these and answer questions from the public. – TradeArabia News Service