Stop the Crash hosted its Latin America launch in Santiago de Chile yesterday, bringing the global partnership to the region to promote life-saving crash avoidance technologies.

Following the global launch of Stop the Crash at the 2nd Global High Level Conference on Road Safety in Brazil in November 2015, the Stop the Crash partnership has been holding a series of events across the globe promoting the importance of active safety systems. Led by automotive safety watchdog, Global NCAP, Stop the Crash partnership also includes ADAC, Autoliv, Bosch, Consumers International, Continental, Denso, Thatcham Research, ZF-TRW, and Toward Zero Foundation.

The Latin American launch is specifically focused on the implementation of Stop the Crash technologies in the region and took place with support from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, featuring demonstrations of electronic stability control (ESC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), anti-lock braking system (ABS) for motorcycles, and tyre safety.

The campaign recently hit a significant milestone in April with the adoption of a United Nations (UN) resolution which specifically invited member states to adopt active safety systems as standard. The resolution further supports the current UN Decade of Action for Road Safety to promote awareness of leading crash avoidance technologies in the major emerging automobile markets.

Following the vehicle demonstrations at Stop the Crash, Global NCAP in partnership with ECLAC hosted a Regional High Level Road Safety Seminar on Vehicle Safety which featured representatives from ECLAC, Automobile Club of Chile (ACCHI), and the FIA Foundation.

David Ward, Global NCAP Secretary General and Stop the Crash Partnership Chairman said, “Technologies such as ESC have the potential to save thousands of lives every year in Latin America. The government needs to implement UN Vehicle Safety Regulations and get these technologies into new cars sold in the region as soon as possible.”

Peter Shaw, chief executive, Thatcham Research, also commented, “Whilst vehicle manufacturers continue to innovate, it’s imperative that all corners of the globe have access to these potentially life-saving vehicle technologies. We’ve already seen the positive effect that the fitment of active safety technologies like Electronic Stability Control and Autonomous Emergency Braking can bring and any initiative to implement safety regulations globally and spread the benefit is of course hugely welcome.”