ACEM, the Motorcycle Industry in Europe, today announced the reinforcement of its advertising policy detailing the commitment of ACEM Members to improve the road safety of motorcycle, scooter and moped riders. This set of guidelines outlines a common approach to socially responsible communication, which will be applied across the 27 Member States of the European Union where ACEM members operate.
ACEM broadly welcomes the European Commission’s Road Safety Action Programme 2011-2020 and the inclusion of motorcyclists amongst its strategic priorities. ACEM reiterates its commitment toward road safety, which stems from ACEM’s Road Safety Plan for Action built on the concept of shared responsibility and the integrated approach. As the European Commission acknowledges it, in-depth analysis shows that human factors play the most important role in traffic accidents.
The advertising policy adopted by the European Motorcycle Industry ensures that all promotion and advertisements for motorcycles, scooters and mopeds destined for use on public roads show the vehicle used in a safe and responsible manner, in order to positively influence the attitude of the rider, which is central in motorcycle safety.
Aggressive riding styles, and any depiction of unsafe behaviour on public roads will be banned from ACEM manufacturers’ PR campaigns. Next to encouraging safe and responsible behaviour these measures also aim at promoting safety enhancing features such as advanced braking systems.
In order to achieve efficient and consistent results across the market manufacturers will deploy training programmes for the effective uptake of this advertising policy throughout their dealer networks.
ACEM members first signed a similar commitment in 2006 under the European Road Safety Charter, a European endeavour to reduce road casualties by 50% by 2010. Following an integrated approach, other ACEM commitments to the European Road Safety Charter include the voluntary progressive installation of advanced braking systems on motorcycles and campaigns related to road infrastructure safety.
Quote
Stefan Pierer, ACEM President and CEO of Austrian manufacturer KTM Sport Motorcycles, stated: “Motorcycle Manufacturers can play a significant role in improving road safety through communication and marketing. The Motorcycle Industry has therefore agreed to strengthen its commitment toward road safety by following a common advertising policy, which sets clear rules to influence attitudes, change behaviours and thus contribute to make a difference in improving road safety on European roads.”
