First run in 2016, Project EDWARD is the UK’s biggest platform for showcasing best practice in road safety. It promotes an evidence-led, ‘safe system’ approach – the long-term objective of which is a road traffic system free from death and serious injury. The annual campaign is backed by government, the emergency services, highways agencies, road safety organisations and British businesses.
The highlight of Project EDWARD is the ‘week of action’ – a five-day road trip from 17-21 October, where three teams crisscross the country speaking to key road safety professionals to showcase the excellent work being done to make UK roads safer and reduce road casualties.
Some of the projects that will be showcased include:
- combatting drug driving in the workplace
- an event to support older drivers hosted by TV’s Valerie Singleton OBE
- technology being used to reduce collisions caused by driver fatigue
- initiatives to raise driving and vehicle maintenance standards for those who drive for work
- innovations in post-crash care to increase chances of survival following a crash
- how the highway code and enforcement will adapt to new technology
- information on the latest in-vehicle safety technology to help drivers avoid a crash
- major engagement events for members of the public featuring demonstrations and advice
During the week long activity Project EDWARD teams will be filming and talking to politicians, regulators, road safety experts, police and crime commissioners, chief constables, chief fire officers and business leaders, creating a 40-minute programme at the end of each day to be broadcast on social media.
Teaming up for the second year running to ensure that the road trip is carried out as safely and efficiently as possible Kia has supplied the Project EDWARD team with three EV6 GT-Line S models. The cars are fully electric and offer range of up to more than 300 miles; their fast-charging capability allows them to recharge their batteries from 10-to-80% in under 20 minutes.
Crucially the cars all come equipped with Kia’s full suite of state-of-the-art active safety collision avoidance and driver assistance technology, including:
- Electronic stability control and vehicle stability management
- Forward collision avoidance assist
- Intelligent speed limit assist
- Lane keep assist
- Driver attention warning
- Blind spot collision avoidance
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Highway driving assist
These systems and others, along with Kia’s impressive passive safety systems ensure the EV6 received the full Euro NCAP 5-star safety rating and that the Project EDWARD road trip crews will be travelling as safely as possible.
James Luckhurst, Project EDWARD’s Founder, says: “We are really grateful to Kia UK for supporting Project EDWARD 2022. Project EDWARD is about promoting the very best initiatives to improve road safety with safe drivers driving safe vehicles on safe roads. Our team will be driving many hundreds of miles during the week so it’s fantastic to know they’ll be protected in one of the safest cars available, packed with the latest vehicle safety systems.”
Paul Philpott, President & CEO, Kia UK commented; “Road and occupant safety is of paramount importance to Kia, not just within the UK, but globally, and is a key aspect when designing and building all of our cars. The growing list of active and passive safety features available as standard ensures that other road users can remain safe on the roads. We are happy to support Project EDWARD in highlighting the importance of road safety across the UK.”
Learn more about Project EDWARD and the road trip at projectedward.org and following the campaign on social media with hashtag #ProjectEDWARD.