#3500LIVES campaign: global celebrities unite to urge personal and political action for safer roads

Story from the FIA Foundation.

Rafael Nadal, Pharrell Williams and Nico Rosberg are amongst the stars featured in the first ever worldwide outdoor road safety advertising campaign, launched by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and advertising giant JCDecaux, with support from the FIA Foundation.

Named for the number of people who lose their lives in preventable road traffic crashes every day on the world’s roads, the #3500LIVES campaign unites a roster of major celebrities from sports and arts with political and religious leaders in a call for political commitment and a properly resourced UN Fund for Road Safety to meet the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on safe infrastructure and vehicles.

Members of the public are encouraged to support this call via a campaign website and to ‘Sign Up, Stay Safe, Save Lives’.

There is also a strong emphasis on personal responsibility. The 13 celebrities endorsing the campaign, including footballer Antoine Griezmann, tennis star Rafael Nadal, F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg, sprinter Yohan Blake, and pop artist Pharrell Williams, will drive home messages on drink driving, speed, distracted driving and the importance of wearing seat belts and motorcycle helmets.

Michelle Yeoh, longtime FIA Foundation ambassador and road safety advocate, and now UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for the SDGs, also features in the campaign.

Translated in 30 languages, the campaign #3500LIVES is now live in 30 cities worldwide and will be rolled out in more than 70 countries by the end of 2017. In the launch phase, JCDecaux estimates that the campaign will be seen 1 billion times.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign at the Automobile Club de France, alongside Mayor Hidalgo; Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of JCDecaux; EC Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc; and the UN Special Representative for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein; the FIA’s President Jean Todt said, “I encourage everyone to promote and share the campaign’s key messages and sign our manifesto for government action. Too many people lose their life unnecessarily in road crashes daily. We are proud to have worked together with JCDecaux on this campaign, and also with 13 fantastic Ambassadors, each of which is a role model, especially for young people, the group worst affected by road crashes.”

The launch event also heard video messages in support of the campaign from His Holiness Pope Francis and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee. Some of the celebrities involved in the campaign, including Nico Rosberg, Yohan Blake and Felipe Massa, joined by live feed. Paralympic gold medalist Vanessa Low, who lost both her legs in a transport incident, attended and spoke at the launch about the impact of her injuries and the struggle to overcome them.

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