Former F1 World Champions Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve are to participate this Thursday, June 10 in an important event in Montreal highlighting road safety technologies for consumers. The event is part of the run up to this Sunday’s Montreal Grand Prix. The two racing legends will discuss the importance of several technologies available to the car-buying public, all of which can save lives and reduce injuries.
They will use the occasion to call on consumers to seek out these technologies when making their next vehicle purchase.
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the FIA Foundation, eSafetyAware and the Government of Canada, are hosting the event at Transport Canada’s Motor Vehicle Test Centre in Blainville, a suburb of Montreal. Over 100 media and guests are expected. Both Schumacher and Villeneuve will provide live demonstrations of the technologies as well as holding a press conference. The technologies being demonstrated are:
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which helps avoid a crash by significantly reducing the risk of the vehicle going into a skid during a sudden emergency maneuver like avoiding an obstacle.
• Blind Spot Monitoring, which helps the driver avoid a crash with a vehicle in the neighboring lane by continuously screening the blind spots to the side of the vehicle and alerting the driver.
• Lane Support Systems, which monitor the vehicle’s position in the road lane, warning drivers if the car unintentionally wanders from the path and helping them correct the course of their vehicle.
• Warning and Emergency Braking Systems, which detect at an early stage the danger of a crash with a vehicle ahead of the driver. If the driver does not react to the warning, the technologies activate the brakes and other systems such as seatbelts to avoid or mitigate a crash.
Paul Pelletier, president of CAA-Québec, stressed the importance of publicizing the benefits of these technologies.
“Safer drivers in safer cars, on well-built roads – these are what we think are a championship combination to reduce the number of road collision victims,” said Pelletier.
Media and guests will have the opportunity to take a look at vehicles equipped with one of the four technologies being featured, and perhaps take a demonstration drive with a professional driver provided by CAA Quebec.
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