As part of their partnership for greater road safety, tire manufacturer Continental and German automobile association ADAC are today launching the “Safe Driving Expert 2017” competition. At the ADAC driving safety center in the Laatzen district of Hanover, a total of 40 women and men, including two local contestants, get to demonstrate just how safe, smart and experienced they are behind the wheel. In the seven preliminary-round events the contestants compete against one another in five theoretical and practical tests. The six best-placed drivers in the preliminary round then go head-to-head in the final, which will be held at the ADAC driving safety center in Linthe at the beginning of September. The participants were drawn at random from more than 4,000 applicants. The vehicle partner to the entire competition is premium automaker BMW and the ultimate winner will get to drive a 362-horsepower BMW i8 plug-in hybrid free of charge for one year.
“The aim of our Safe Driving Expert competition is to actively promote road safety in Germany and thereby make a lasting contribution to reducing the number of road fatalities,” explained Continental’s Frank Jung, who is responsible for Passenger Car Replacement Tires in Germany. “The idea is for the contestants to learn to recognize the far-reaching consequences of even the smallest of driver errors, understand why driving at appropriate speeds makes sense, and experience the impact of a vehicle’s tires on its handling.” Guided by ADAC instructors, after an initial theoretical test the contestants have to show that they’ve got what it takes to be a Safe Driving Expert in four practical exercises. In one of these exercises they have to brake the car from a speed of their own choosing safely to a halt before it reaches a specific point on the road. The other tests in which they score marks take them round a slippery bend, through a slalom and onto the skid pan.
Tire manufacturer Continental has been partnering with ADAC’s eleven driving safety centers in Germany since the beginning of 2017. Both parties see their collaboration as the ideal complement to their own activities to enhance road safety. “With its pronounced technical expertise in both automotive and traffic engineering and its superbly equipped driving safety centers, ADAC makes an ideal partner for us in our efforts to bring home our long-term goal of ‘Vision Zero’ to drivers, as well as to our customers and business partners,” adds Jung. “We are joining forces in the interests of a future with zero road deaths, injuries and accidents. And of course we also are out to highlight some very simple ways to boost safety, such as regular monitoring and correction of tire pressures and ensuring sufficient residual tread depth.”
