British drivers Richard Meredith and Phil Colley are set to become the first people in the world to cross the full Asia-Pacific highway in a 10,000 mile call for action to stop the thousands of deaths on the roads every day.
The school teacher and tour operator are scheduled to arrive in London on Tuesday (14), after an epic journey crossing 16 countries in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
During the 50 days it will have taken to complete the journey, 150,000 people were killed on the world’s roads – a figure which includes 25,000 children. Yet Meredith, 58, and Colley, 42, who took on the drive to support the Make Roads Safe campaign, say that this death toll is preventable. The campaign is calling for a UN Ministerial conference on road safety.
Meredith, a teacher from Newport Pagnell said: “We were shocked at the staggering number of people who die on the roads every day. The problem is at such a level now that road crashes have become the number one killer of young people worldwide.
“Many developing countries, like the ones we have driven through across Asia, have accident rates on their roads which are far too high. The death toll could be lowered if proper resources were put into basic safety measures such as crash barriers and pedestrian crossings.”
London travel specialist Colley said: “There’s been much talk of once again stepping up aid to the developing world. There will be more roads like the Asian highway being built but we have to make sure that we don’t end up killing even more people. Action can be taken on this. We want people to join us in signing the Make Roads Safe petition for the UN to start addressing this public health emergency through a Ministerial meeting.”
Figures from the UN and World Bank show that:
- At least 440,000 people are estimated to be killed and 30 million injured each year on Asian roads – including the Asia-Pacific Highway;
- By 2020 the UN estimates that two thirds of the world’s road deaths may occur on Asian roads, due to rapid motorisation;
- At least 1.2 million people worldwide are estimated to be killed each year on the roads – more than 3000 people every day;
- Road crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged 10-24.
Meredith and Colley set off from Tokyo on 25 June with their sat-nav set for London’s Trafalgar Square. They set out to complete their world first Asian Highway drive in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign which is calling for urgent UN action on road deaths.
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Contact:
Saul Billingsley Make Roads Safe campaign 07803987250
Avi Silverman Make Roads Safe campaign 07967229374
Notes to editors
- The two drivers will hold a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane London at 10.40 am, 14 August.
- They are due to be the first people to cross the full extent of the Asia Highway. Countries they crossed included Japan, South Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
- The Make Roads Safe campaign is aiming to collect 1.2m signatures to be sent to the UN Secretary General in autumn 2007. The campaign is calling for a UN Ministerial meeting to push forward the road safety agenda. For further information and to sign the petition, visit www.makeroadssafe.org
- For further information on the Asia-Highway drive and for high res images visit www.astonmartinasiahighway.com