Media Releases 2008
June 3, 2008 |
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Road safety and survival messages highlight - The 2008 Drive To Survive
Tour
IBC persuading distracted drivers to change their ways
TORONTO, ON - The shiny trucks and trailers have been tuned up and polished.
Two D.U.M.B. Cars are revving up for another busy summer. Eight Ontario
student ambassadors have graduated from injury prevention boot camp and
are ready to hit the road to deliver important safety messages to communities
across the province.
Canada’s home, car and business insurers today kicked off their
award-winning community outreach program, The Drive to Survive Tour, to
help Ontarians lead safer lives. Now in its third consecutive year, the
tour will feature strategies for preparing for natural disasters, home
safety tips and a crash course on how to avoid driver distractions.
“The D.U.M.B. Car (Distractions Undermining Motorist Behaviour)
is an important feature of the 2008 tour because distracted driving is
still one of the most serious road safety issues in Canada today,”
said Don Forgeron, Vice President, Ontario, Insurance Bureau of Canada.
To persuade distracted drivers to change their ways, IBC developed the
D.U.M.B. Car, which made its debut in Toronto in January of 2007. IBC
was soon flooded with invitations from communities across the country
to have the simulator at their events.
“Driver distraction is a serious problem,” said Transportation
Minister Jim Bradley. “That is why we are working together with
our road safety partners to raise awareness and to send a clear message
- safe driving requires your undivided attention.”
New to the tour this year is a component to address the growing threat
of natural disasters as a result of climate change. When disaster strikes,
it often takes first responders and emergency workers some time to reach
everyone who needs help.
“This means that each of us should be prepared to survive for the
first 72 hours following a natural disaster,” said Forgeron. “This
summer, we are going to raise awareness of the need to be prepared and
also show people what they should have in their own emergency kits to
ensure their safety and the safety of their families.”
"Unfortunately emergency situations have a way of arriving unannounced,"
said Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community
Safety and Correctional Services. "By being prepared with a 72-hour
emergency survival kit, Ontarians are making a valuable investment in
their safety and the safety of their families."
A team of Ontario university students was hired for the summer to act
as youth ambassadors with the tour. “It’s the perfect summer
job,” said University of Waterloo student Zach Budd. “We get
to travel across the province and talk to people about safety. When they
participate in the various demos, you realize that what we’re doing
could actually save lives and that feels really good.”
Again this summer, the tour will visit more than 50 festivals and fairs
in communities across the province, exposing thousands of people to important
safety messages. In the coming weeks, the trailers will travel to Burlington,
Windsor, Oakville, Kitchener and Muskoka before heading up to Ottawa for
Canada Day.
Insurance Bureau of Canada is the national industry association representing
Canada’s private home, car and business insurers. Its member companies
represent nearly 95% of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance
market in Canada. The P&C industry employs over 104,000 Canadians,
pays more than $6 billion in taxes to the federal and provincial governments,
and has a total premium base of $35 billion.
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For more information, please contact:
Ellen Woodger: 416-483-2358; or
James Geuzebroek: 416-362-2031 ext. 4364
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