(PRESS RELEASE) BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT / CHARENTON-LE-PONT – As part of their mobilization around World Sight Day 2019, Michelin and Essilor announce the signature of a 2-year collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding. The collaboration aims at joining forces to widely reach the public and raise awareness on the importance of good vision on the road as well as good functional tyres reliable up to the wear indicator.
Poor vision and tyres in a bad state of use are two main risk factors for road safety, related to the human factor on one side and to one of the key performance features of the machine – the tyres that connect it to the road – on the other side.
90% of the information needed on the road comes from our eyes, and yet it is estimated that 1 out of 5 drivers in the world suffers from uncorrected poor vision, usually due to a lack of awareness or to limited access to vision care.
In parallel, around 1 in 2 cars rolls with under-inflated tyres and around 1 in 10 cars rolls with tyres that are beyond the wear limit, which can lead to punctures or accidents.
This is why this partnership between both companies plans on:
- Increasing awareness campaigns on a global and country scale, through eye screenings and tyre check-ups for employees, customers and the public at large;
- Providing innovative services to facilitate access to the appropriate equipment to consumers, through the leveraging of both Michelin and Essilor’s respective expertise.
“Tyres and vision are two essential factors for the safety of drivers to which Michelin and Essilor are strongly committed: we have decided to formalize our common engagement for road safety through a long-term collaboration agreement”, said Eric Le Corre, corporate vice-president public affairs at Michelin. “This engagement for safer mobility addresses both the action for the employees of the company and more widely, all drivers. Our action with Essilor will also allow us to highlight the importance of vision for our training for drivers”, added Nicolas Beaumont, senior vice president sustainable development and mobility at Michelin.
“We believe that this partnership between two renowned and engaged leaders like Michelin and Essilor creates a unique opportunity to improve people’s vision and safety on the road. The communication is simple, but powerful: get ready before hitting the road by checking your vision and checking your tyres. Yet, there is a lack of public awareness and too few policies on the importance of vision on the road. The support of Michelin is a hallmark and we are very excited about the potential of this collaboration and how it will benefit people” concluded Laurent Vacherot, chief executive officer, Essilor International.
Both partners are already strongly involved in independent respective actions to promote safe mobility.
In 2017, Essilor and Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) partnered to lead the fight against the lack of awareness on the crucial link between vision and road safety, through the joint promotion of the FIA created “Check your vision” golden rule, which stands together with other main risk factors on the road (speed, buckle seat belts, mobile phone usage, check tyres, etc). In line with its mission of improving lives by improving sight, Essilor is fully committed to further reinforcing its product range, with solutions that answer drivers’ visual needs, and to continue to leverage innovation as a way to correct, protect and enhance the vision of all road users (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists…).
Michelin, a leader in the field of sustainable mobility and world class tyre manufacturer, has a long-standing commitment to road safety through their local actions and global partnerships with the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC). Michelin is an active corporate partner of the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety and one of the first private sector donors of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund.