ROME – Within three years the work will be complete: agreed tracks, an educational program divided between theoretical and practical parts and a pool of instructors qualified to teach some specific driving techniques. This is the strategic plan developed by “Guida e Vai”, the “brand” to which around 600 driving schools adhere throughout Italy and which aims to package an ecosystem of next-generation solutions and services.
“The idea of this initiative was born in memory of my father, who died prematurely due to a road accident ”, explains Salvatore Ambrosino, CEO of Guida e Va. “Hence the desire to join forces, together with all driving schools having the same vision as me, to create a safe driving pilot format that will be replicated in all regions of Italy, for the 600 associated driving schools.”
This is why between the 17 and 19 May, Guida e Vai will complete the qualification of about 100 instructors from participating driving schools at the Centro Fiera Montichiari in Brescia. A three-day event during which the dynamic behavior of the car in critical situations will be analyzed and tested and real episodes that can occur while driving a vehicle will be experienced in absolute safety. Some examples: driving in situations of loss of grip of the car in the front or rear, emergency ABS braking in the event of an unexpected event and exercises to increase control of the car at high speeds, in the event of a sudden double obstacle or braking when cornering.
The first Regions involved will be Lombardy, scheduled for June and, to follow, Piedmont and Marche, in July. To these appointments others will be added, in relation to further agreements that will be closed during the year. From this month on, at the invitation of driving schools, students will be able to start enrolling in the location of their preference, by directly accessing a dedicated online section, made available to them on the relevant portals.
“We are very proud of the attention this project is attracting among driving schools and students”, continues Ambrosino. “It is our will, once the project is over, to continue to follow the students who took part in the initiative in order to have direct feedback on the effective effectiveness of the course in terms of reducing the number of accidents. Getting this will be our true return on investment. ”
According to the findings of the ISTAT data, despite the almost total blocking of mobility and circulation by virtue of the restrictive measures adopted to contain the pandemic, in 2020 there were 118,298 road accidents in Italy, with 2,395 deaths and 159,249 injuries. The social cost of events involving personal injury, again for the same year, detected by the Traffic Police, the Local Police and the Carabinieri, is 11.6 billion euros, equal to 0.7% of the national GDP. Already, in 2021, there is an increase in accidents of about + 26.7%. Driving distraction and high speed continue to be a major cause.
“If we all believe in this value and not just in words, how many road deaths are needed even before understanding how important it is to invest in structured training for the drivers of tomorrow?” concludes the number one of Guida e Vai. “We are deeply convinced that living direct experience, albeit simulated, is the only way to instill in young students a true awareness of the risks of the road. The aim is to help raise their threshold of attention and, at the same time, reduce the number of accidents which, to date, continue to be very high in our country. “