AUTO #19 Q2 / 2017
06
UP FRONT Gallery News
AUTO ASKS The Big Question
DRIVING FORCES Charles Leclerc
TECH REPORT Drive to start-ups
THE BIG READS Chase Carey Lewis Hamilton
WISE HEADS SAVE LIVES
AUTO FOCUS Cities in motion Roads to recovery Paths to glory Wise heads save lives The road less travelled Powering peak performance Carlos Tavares interview Yohan Blake, #3500 Lives
06
/ JOHN CAMPBELL
Road safety organisations including the FIA FOUNDATION that have campaigned for greater helmet use in Cambodia to reduce fatalities are now seeing the fruits of their labour
REAR VIEW Tommi Mäkinen Renault Alpine A110
INSIDE THE FIA Welcome to club world
AUTO GRAPH Porsche’s race to road history
FINAL LAP Derek Daly
P54
It felt like any other day. Chantheavin, eight, was travelling on the back of her father’s motorcycle. The dust from the road swirled around her as they made their way down an unkempt highway. Farmers tended to their crops and factory workers headed to one of the many nearby facilities – agriculture and industry contribute to much of the area’s economy. Chantheavin and her family have called this rural region – Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia – home for years. There had recently been an influx in heavy lorry traffic travelling along the same poorlypaved road that Chantheavin and her father regularly drove on, making it dangerous to navigate. Chantheavin’s father has been driving a motorcycle for years and is a taxi driver by trade, and he is always cautious when driving along these roads. Navigating bumps and debris was no simple feat. But on that day, Chantheavin’s father did not realise there was a pothole in his path. As his motorcycle tyre hit the rut, he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the side of the road. “In that moment, I didn’t care about anything except that my daughter was going to be okay,” her father says. “The crash happened so fast. Before I could realise what was going on, I had flown from my dad’s motorcycle and everything hurt,” recalls Chantheavin. She had legs, knee and back injuries. But thanks to her helmet, she suffered no head injuries and survived the potentially fatal incident. In Cambodia, this story is not unique – a motorcycle is often the family vehicle. Motorised two- and three-wheelers account for more than 80 per cent of all vehicles in the country. Whether they’re commuting to school or work, or visiting family in the countryside, people of all ages hop on two-wheelers daily, making them some of the world’s most at-risk road users. Every day in Cambodia, six lives are lost and 15 more people are seriously injured in crashes. Contrary to the popular idea that infectious diseases and unexploded ordnance pose the greatest threats