AA Trust wins Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for ten years of innovative road safety campaigns

11 December 2018

Press release from the AA Charitable Trust.

The AA Trust has been awarded a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for ten years of innovative road safety campaigns.

The award was presented at a ceremony at The Savoy, London, by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

In the ten years the Trust has been running it has funded hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of driver improvement courses targeting:

• Young drivers (Drive Smart)
• Nervous drivers (Drive Confident)
• Motorway driving skills (Drive Motorway)
• Electric vehicle driving (Drive Electric).

It has also run a number of award-winning* road safety campaigns including:

• Think Bikes!
• Drive for Opportunity
• Driver Distraction and Designated Driver

Think Bikes, which launched in 2013, was born out of a simple idea from the AA Patrol of the Year to distribute simple line drawing stickers to remind drivers to do a double take in their mirrors for those on two wheels. It was rolled out internationally through the FIA to motoring clubs from Iceland to Iran.

Designated Driver and Driver Distraction were similarly successful; winning backing and funding from the Department for Transport so the campaign advert could be shown in cinemas across the UK. One year after the campaigns were launched there was nearly a 50 per cent drop in the number of fixed penalty notices handed to drivers for mobile phone offences.

Edmund King, Director of the AA Trust, said: “We are honoured to receive this Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

“Over the last ten years the AA Trust has delivered a range of imaginative campaigns that have tackled some of the biggest safety issues on our roads.

“Since the AA Charitable Trust was founded, we have seen many changes to our roads, such as smart motorways, increasing traffic volumes and worsening road conditions.

“We have tried to ensure that we have always supported the UK’s drivers through the changes of the last ten years with our courses and campaigns.”

HRH Prince Michael of Kent said, “The AA Charitable Trust’s contribution has been significant and I am grateful for its commitment and initiative.’