Schumi backs road safety campaign.

Multiple world champion Michael Schumacher has added his support to the latest international road safety campaign, joining FIA president Max Mosley and current F1 drivers in calling for greater awareness of the dangers of driving.

The first UN Global Road Safety Week began on Monday [23 April], with hundreds of initiatives taking place around the world with a focus on raising awareness among young road users. Current World Health Organisation figures suggest that, globally, road accidents are the leading cause of death for 10 to 25-year olds, with more than a thousand youngsters being killed on roads every day.

"Road crashes kill on the scale of malaria or tuberculosis, yet the international community has not woken up to this horrific waste of life," Schumacher said at the launch of the international initiative, "I strongly support the 'Make Roads Safe' campaign and the proposal that the United Nations organise a first ever UN ministerial conference to tackle this preventable loss of life."

In the UK alone, 70 children are being killed or seriously injured on roads every week, prompting Mosley to join forces with UK safety organisations to promote the latest initiative.

"Road deaths are an ongoing tragedy that must be addressed," the FIA president explained, "This is why the FIA has given its full support to the first UN Global Road Safety Week, a campaign which will initiate numerous road safety activities around the world. We must take strong action to deal with the growing epidemic of road deaths worldwide."

Mosley and Schumacher were joined at the launch by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety, and UK road safety minister Stephen Ladyman.

Formula One's support of UN Road Safety Week began back at the opening round of the 2007 season, when all 22 drivers came together for a photocall to promote the campaign's website, while crash test dummy characters - the symbol of the FIA Foundation and Bridgestone-backed 'Think! Before You Drive Campaign' - were conspicuous at the recent Bahrain Grand Prix.

Williams driver Alex Wurz will speak at the UN's World Youth Assembly for Road Safety in Geneva on this week, while several of his rivals have added their voices to the Bridgestone campaign.

"I think that people need to sit back and really think about how many people are dying on the roads and what we can do about it," McLaren's rookie superstar Lewis Hamilton commented, "I know that, when I'm in the race car, the priority is safety. My seatbelt, HANS device, helmet, gloves, everything that is going to keep me safe, is checked. It is important that we take precautionary measures, such as checking that you have the right tyre pressures in your tyres."