Belt up and stay safe, says Schumacher

Matthew Chung

• Last Updated: November 07. 2009 11:16PM UAE / November 7. 2009 7:16PM GMT

ABU DHABI // Michael Schumacher is used to taking risks on the race circuit. But one risk the seven-times Formula One world champion says he never takes, whether in a racing car or on the public road, is to drive without wearing a seat belt.

“I feel naked if I don’t wear a safety belt,” said the motor racing legend, now retired, who was in the capital for the Grand Prix at Yas Marina.

Schumacher, 40, is a noted road safety campaigner. He met officials from Salama – the road safety public awareness initiative founded by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, the oil company Shell and the Emirates Driving Company driving school, with the support of the Ministry of Interior – to which he lent his support.

At a young age, the German said, he saw simulated crashes on television that showed the impact on a person who was wearing a seat belt compared with someone who was not.

“The difference was so enormous,” Schumacher said. “The people in these crash simulations were being killed straight away without wearing safety belts, and the people with a safety belt survived.

“For me, it was clear since then, on top of using safety belts all the time when I race, that it is a standard.”

Road safety campaigners hope that more people in the UAE will follow Schumacher’s example.

“The importance of Michael Schumacher’s support for Salama is that he was the most successful racing driver in history, yet he always insists on buckling his seat-belt, even for an everyday outing,” said Maytha al Habsi, the director of communications and public awareness at the Emirates Foundation. “He is both a great driver and a great example to the young.”



mchung@thenational.ae