Brussels, 19/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 12 November 2008, EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani awarded two prizes for excellence in connection with the European Road Safety Charter, whose 1200 signatories have made commitments to action to improve road safety. The prizes went to six organisations that have made the best pledges in the various areas set out in the Charter - user behaviour, vehicle performance and infrastructure quality. The prize-winner are FirstGroup PLC (United Kingdom) for its injury prevention programme, Greek football club A.E.K. for its road safety programme, the Madrid association of driver assistance companies, the civil engineering faculty of Ljubljana University for its new road and pedestrian crossing designs, Maltese NGO Qrendi Scout Group for its road safety awareness campaign, and the Romanian city of Brasov for the city authority's commitment to road infrastructure and the safety of pedestrians. Sixteen new organisations signed the charter at the prize-giving ceremony. Antonio Tajani said he was delighted with the increasing interest in the charter from civil society and the private sector, adding that cutting the number of road accident victims is not the responsibility of the public authorities alone. (A.By./transl.fl)