Michelin and Essilor sign MoU to promote safe mobility

Michelin, the French tyre manufacturer and Essilor, a French optic company, entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims at joining forces to widely reach the public and raise awareness on the importance of good vision on the road as well as good functional tyres reliable up to the wear indicator.

The partnership between Michelin and Essilor aims for –

-Increasing awareness campaigns on a global and country scale, through eye screenings and tyre check-ups for employees, customers and the public at large.

-Providing innovative services to facilitate access to the appropriate equipment to consumers, through the leveraging of both Michelin and Essilor’s respective expertise.

It has been reported that poor vision and tyres in a bad state of use are two main risk factors for road safety. 90 percent of the information needed on the road comes from our eyes, and yet it is estimated that 1 out of 5 drivers in the world suffers from uncorrected poor vision, usually due to a lack of awareness or to limited access to vision care. In parallel, around 1 in 2 cars rolls with under-inflated tyres and around 1 in 10 cars rolls with tyres that are beyond the wear limit, which can lead to punctures or accidents.

Eric Le Corre, corporate vice-president public affairs at Michelin said, “Tyres and vision are two essential factors for the safety of drivers to which Michelin and Essilor are strongly committed: we have decided to formalize our common engagement for road safety through a long-term collaboration agreement.”

Nicolas Beaumont, senior vice president, sustainable development and mobility at Michelin, “This engagement for safer mobility addresses both the action for the employees of the company and more widely, all drivers. Our action with Essilor will also allow us to highlight the importance of vision for our training for drivers.”

Laurent Vacherot, chief executive officer, Essilor International said, “The support of Michelin is a hallmark and we are very excited about the potential of this collaboration and how it will benefit people.”

Earlier, it was reported that Essilor and Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) partnered to lead the fight against the lack of awareness on the crucial link between vision and road safety, through the joint promotion of the FIA-created 'Check your vision' golden rule, which stands together with other main risk factors on the road (speed, buckle seat belts, mobile phone usage, check tyres, among others). In line with its mission of improving lives by improving sight, Essilor is fully committed to further reinforcing its product range, with solutions that answer drivers’ visual needs, and to continue to leverage innovation as a way to correct, protect and enhance the vision of all road users.