Brussels, 28/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is delighted with the launch of a new awareness platform highlighting the advantages of vehicle systems and their road safety benefits. The Platform for User Awareness is called eSafety Aware. It has 26 founding members representing automotive suppliers, automotive clubs, road safety authorities, road operators, insurance industry and service providers. The European Commission is participating in the platform as an observer and it will be chaired by the Foundation of the International Automobile Federation, FIA. The platform will launch public awareness campaigns to catch the attention of the public at large, making them aware of the benefits and why they should use these technologies. The first will be on Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which has been proven to reduce accident risk by 20%. This will be launched in April 2007. Further campaigns are planned in other high-priority topics such as the in-vehicle emergency call, eCall. “Intelligent vehicle systems can make a major contribution in solving our most pertinent transport problem, namely road safety… It is our job to get these systems to the users as quickly as possible…We will work together with partners that share our vision", explained Mr Rosario Alessi, FIA Foundation Chairman. The new intelligent car initiative is part of the Commission's i2010 initiative - a European Information Society for growth and jobs based on new technology. On 21 February, the Commission continued with this launch by inaugurating a campaign to encourage consumers to sue intelligent vehicles and the private sector to develop initiatives in this directive (EUROPE 9136).