tiresandparts.net8Can you tell us a little about yourself? I am an Austrian citizen and have been living in the UAE for almost 19 years, from August 2000 onwards. I always had a passion for road safety, with my aunt working in a driving school and having been close to the operations of a driving school, the stories of the instructors and so on. As part of my studies in Vienna, I took Transportation as one of my majors and this started me on my journey in the automotive sector. What were the primary factors that prompted you to set up RoadSafety UAE? What made you so concerned about this particular issue? Road traffic accidents are the #2 cause of death in the UAE. People in the UAE are drawn from diverse nationalities and backgrounds and hence, choose to interpret traffic rules and road etiquette in different ways. The outcome is a high rate of accidents, which can often result in injuries and fatalities. Often, we experience inconsiderate behavior on our streets. Dangerous situations on the roads are the subject of discussions with our friends and colleagues pretty much on a daily basis. There is a general consensus in UAE’s society, that road safety must be addressed as a matter of national priority (as manifested in the UAE Government ‘Vision 2021’), with urgency and with longevity.I observed the lack of road etiquette and education for many years. After having been here for 14 years, I set up RoadSafetyUAE in 2014. There was a bit of promotional activity with regards to road safety, but no dedicated, holistic and permanent platform. I identified a gap that needed to be filled. I wanted to step out of the corporate world and try to ‘give back’ to the society and work for a truly important cause of this country. Our vision is to contribute to reducing the number of road traffic fatalities, road traffic injuries and road traffic accidents in the UAE by promoting the UAE’s traffic participants’ awareness of the need for proper conduct on our roads. We want to be – in a constructive manner – an open, broad and ‘connecting’ platform for road safety in the UAE.How difficult was it initially to garner support for the initiative? Who were some of your first supporters? RTA was the very first supporter and we are very grateful for this, as they have just been vital for our start. They instantly saw the value we can add with such an initiative. Our very first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partners were Michelin and BMW. We have been working with over 60 CSR-Partners and we have about 25 CSR-Partners on board at all times. We work with the following stakeholders: governmental entities (RTA, Police, etc.), the media, CSR-Partners and the individual road user. We exist to raise awareness for proper conduct on our roads and we need to be as ‘broad’ as possible, hence we want to cooperate with as many parties as possible. Our strategy is to engage with our stakeholders - governmental authorities, the media, CSR-minded corporations (Corporate Social Responsibility) and the individual traffic participants. The main features of our content include ‘tips&tricks’, which we provide for more than 60 topics of road safety, specifically relevant to the UAE. We communicate our content via media (digital and classical), the communication channels of our CSR-minded corporate supporters, PR and events. RoadSafetyUAE.com is proud to be associated with over 30 governmental entities, corporations and institutions from various segments and industries.CEO, ROADSAFETYUAE
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