Schumacher to meet Salama officials

ABU DHABI // Michael Schumacher is a seven-time Formula One world champion, but it is his background in road safety that will interest Salama officials on Saturday. The retired German driver will meet a team from the road safety initiative as part of a campaign launched earlier this month to coincide with the Grand Prix. "Michael Schumacher is a global figure in road safety. We'll meet with him and exchange knowledge and expertise," said Maytha al Habsi, the head of Salama.

Schumacher is a noted road safety campaigner. He has been the face of the FIA European Road Safety Campaign, the globally recognised Make Roads Safe programme, and a Bacardi advertising campaign that raised awareness about drink driving. He is also a member of the Commission for Global Road Safety. Salama, a road safety public awareness initiative launched in 2008, was founded by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, the oil company Shell and the Emirates Driving Company, with the support of the Ministry of Interior.

A Salama tent on the Corniche for the Grand Prix features a "seat belt convincer" designed to illustrate the benefits of using the safety device. Also, a simulator allows people to test their driving skills under different weather and road conditions with instructors from the driving school. @Email:newsdesk@thenational.ae