Associating to promote road safety

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Essilor have entered into partnership to promote road safety. The announcement came at the second ‘World Congress of Optometry’ recently.

“For years, vision has taken a back seat on the road safety agenda – in fact, we have seen it virtually disappear from the global discussion,” said Dr Uduak Udom, President, World Council of Optometry. “As optometrists, we know that road safety begins with good vision, and I am pleased to place the WCO collective stamp of approval on this partnership and the work it will accomplish to prioritize the role of vision in driving over the coming years.”

Jayanth Bhuvagharan, Chief Mission Officer, Essilor stated: “Through this partnership, Essilor and the FIA are combining two objectives into one common ambition for the greater good: ensuring safe mobility across the world by improving people’s sight. The purpose of the three-year partnership is to fight the lack of awareness on this global health issue and highlight the importance of regular eye checks for safe driving.”

“Through the call to action, ‘Check your vision’ we aim to encourage people to visit an eye care practitioner for regular eye checks. We are delighted to have the support of the optical industry’s governing body, World Council of Optometry and the Vision Impact Institute for this partnership and important cause,” he said.

Kristan Gross, Global Executive Director, Vision Impact Institute, welcomed the partnership and said, “Since its inception, the Vision Impact Institute has worked to raise the priority of healthy vision for drivers as one of four key areas of focus.

Our efforts to create change in this area, both globally and specifically in India, include building awareness through research on the role of healthy vision in driving. We are delighted to work alongside the industry as it comes together to advocate for road safety.”