EFA meets Abu Dhabi Police and EDC

EFA meets Abu Dhabi Police and Emirates Driving Company (EDC).
An EFA delegation visits the EDC premises and plans the next event for the end of February 2022. Pandemic permitting the European federation should organize the next meeting in Abu Dhabi. During their stay in the UAE the EFA delegates attended the IRF event where Dr. George El Zachem presented the national and international activities of EDC.
EFA also meets with Police Colonel Mohammed Albreik Alamri and his staff, who takes care of road safety and driving exams. There are conditions for starting important collaborations with the police department in the field of road safety and training.
Vial Week in Spain
From November 18th to 20th, the CNAE event was held in Madrid. The event was an opportunity to present the latest developments in road safety and future strategies to follow to keep alive a sector increasingly threatened by external agents.
On the road, various public events were held to raise public awareness on various issues such as first aid maneuvers such as resuscitation, routes with exercises for scooters, simulations of abandoning the vehicle in the event of a rollover and demonstrations of how firefighters intervene in the event of occupants trapped in the passenger compartment of cars.
The technical tables for the “50th Driving School Convention” took place at the elegant Hotel Melià Castilla in Madrid, where the 350 delegates were joined by numerous companions in search of specific answers.

The main theme of the works was undoubtedly the controversial article 62 of the Spanish Highway Code, or the possibility of being able to open with a driving school location, several branches throughout the country, to pave the way to a wild online training.
The big online platforms are pushing to create a licence factory, an impersonal system with the unique objective of increasing the annual revenue. It doesn’t matter if you sell shoes, clothes, or pay for road safety. With an opportunistic concept of human evolution, riding the wave of simplification, promising economic savings (perhaps) in the short term, the great economic players have also entered Spain, in search of their Eldorado. Entering an already saturated market offering low-cost services breaks a delicate survival system that runs the risk of leading to a civil war to the downside, where quality and the customer are no longer at the center, but instead run the risk of become a reserved niche product. The funny thing is that European driving schools have taken decades to get out of the dichotomy between quality and quantity. Driving schools have emerged from a long period powered by an economic system aimed at licensing as many people as possible to guarantee them independence, freedom and access to better work, often at the expense of quality. Today, driving schools try to offer adequate services to a smaller group of users and to the needs of contemporary society. In fact, it is no coincidence that those who operate in the sector, driving schools, the DGT and most of the associations involved in road safety oppose this human involution pushed from outside.

The French experience, with the important demonstration of the presidency of the French driving school association CNPA, made up of Patrice Bessone and Lorenzo Lefevre, shows about the recognized role of driving schools by civil society. In France, the problem of downward training (in terms of price and quality) has been tackled since 2015. The result is that today online training platforms have around 4% of the market and an exam success rate more low. 40%, compared to about 60% of those who go to driving school. It is the market, that is, it is the families who have chosen quality for their children. And with the same weapons, energy, competence and philosophy, the CNAE faces the challenge that will see it participate in the coming years as a provider of quality training focused on the individual and her personal growth. The lesson of French civil society has been understood: if we have to invest in something, let’s do it in people.
WSOR project

EFA meets Mr. Giorgio Liveriero is Head of Corporate Relations Diageo Italy and oversee the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda for Diageo Southern Europe describing the Wrong Side of the Road project.
Road Safety Film Festival
Take part in the Global Road Safety Film Festival 2022, as participant, filmmaker or partner.
For the Decade of Action for road safety 2021-2030, the Laser International Foundation (LIFE), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Road Safety Fund, join their efforts to contribute to the awareness of the road users and the involvement of the road safety stakeholders.
The Global Road Safety Film Festival is organized in Geneva – Palais des Nations on 21-22 February 2022, back to back with the 75th Inland Transport Committee Anniversary.
CIECA call for papers

“Driver training and testing: Finding the balance between mobility and safety through the use of innovative technology, improved curricula and data analysis”. The 54th CIECA General Assembly and Congress will take place in Naples, Italy, on Wednesday 8 June and Thursday 9 of June 2022.
11th Swiss Congress of Traffic Psychology

The Swiss Association of Traffic Psychology (VfV) is committed to bringing together practitioners, scientists and students from the field of traffic psychology to exchange information and ideas about the science and management of traffic-related questions. Our association’s conferences provide outstanding opportunities for professionals at all stages of their career for continuing education and development.
It is our pleasure to invite you to the 11th Swiss Congress of Traffic Psychology with the topic „Traffic Psychology Across Borders„, which will take place on 12-13 May 2022 in Lugano in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Excellence in Road Safety Awards 2021

The Excellence in Road Safety Awards 2021 Ceremony was held in Brussels on November 18th. Several categories were awarded. If you want more information, if you are not registered yet and do not receive the European Road Safety Charter (ERSC) newsletter, visit the link below.
UNECE Report

Major auto markets join forces for draft UN legislation on electric vehicle battery durability.
Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles are surging in major markets including China, Europe and North America, and reached 3 million vehicles in 2020, 4.6% of total sales. In Europe, their market share reached 10%. According to the projections of the International Energy Agency, their global market share could reach between 10.4% and 19% in 2025.