• Tonight, at Plaza Barceló, volunteers affected by a spinal injury due to traffic accidents will address young people to remind them of the importance of not mixing alcohol, drugs and driving.
• Municipal Police agents will also participate in the action by performing preventive breathalyzer controls. Red Cross volunteers also collaborate in the campaign.
• Inmaculada Sanz, spokesperson for the Madrid City Council and delegate for Security and Emergencies, and Georgina Flamme, Manager of the Abertis Foundation, have presented this morning the collaboration of both entities in this initiative to raise awareness of road safety.

The Abertis Foundation will carry out an awareness action aimed at young people tonight in the center of Madrid to raise awareness of the importance of respecting road safety and maintaining a sensible behavior at the wheel, especially in nightlife, in which the risk of abandonment or inattention is increased.

The performance has been presented this morning by Inmaculada Sanz, spokesperson for the Madrid City Council and delegate for Security and Emergencies; and Georgina Flamme, Manager of the Abertis Foundation. With the support of the Madrid City Council, the Municipal Police, the Red Cross and the Guttmann Institute, this action is part of the awareness program ‘You have one life left’ that has been developed by the Abertis Foundation in recent years and has successfully moved to other countries where it operates.

In the words of Georgina Flamme, Manager of the Abertis Foundation, ‘at the Foundation we focus a good part of our efforts on educating some of the most vulnerable groups about road safety, such as young people who go out partying’. And she has added: ‘We are very grateful to the Madrid City Council for the support they have given to this initiative, especially during Christmas Festivities.

On the other hand, Inmaculada Sanz, spokesperson of the Madrid City Council and delegate of Security and Emergencies, has wanted to point out the value of the work that the Municipal Police of Madrid carries out throughout the year in the matter of Road Safety to raise public awareness about the importance of driving correctly on public roads, whether you are a pedestrian or in a vehicle, to avoid accidents, as well as the dangers of being at the wheel when alcohol or drugs have been used. ‘The function that the Unit of Road and Civic Education of the Municipal Police develops is also very important, as it conducts meetings and road safety conferences regularly with primary and secondary school, and college students, as well as AMPAS and care homes’, she has added.

Tonight’s action will take place at Plaza Barceló between 10:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. During these hours, a group of instructors affected by a spinal injury as a result of a traffic accident will address people who are in the area in order to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining a responsible behavior at the wheel and also warn them, through their experience, of the dangers and the consequences that driving can entail after having consumed alcohol or drugs, as well as other distractions, such as the use of the cell phone at the wheel.

The testimony of these instructors will be complemented by the distribution of leaflets with practical advice for safe driving, with the participation of Red Cross volunteers. Additionally, agents of the Municipal Police will carry out preventive breathalyzer controls to help avoid possible traffic accidents.

‘You have one life left’ program

The youth program ‘You have one life left’ from the Abertis Foundation was created in 2009 with the aim of promoting responsible driving in nightlife outings among young people aged 18 to 30. After a few years in Barcelona, the action has been exported to other cities such as Madrid, Alicante or Peñíscola and has also been successfully transferred to other countries where the Abertis Group operates such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

The campaign is part of the extensive road safety program carried out by the Abertis Foundation since 2003 which includes the promotion of research, the organization of scientific conferences, road education in schools and other awareness campaigns.

The Abertis Foundation was created in 1999 as a non-profit organization, with the objective of responding to the impact that the economic activity of the Abertis Group has in the different territories and countries where the Group is present. The Foundation has always given priority to actions related to road safety, environment and social action, in line with the Strategic Plan for Social Responsibility of Abertis and the Abertis Group's commitment to road safety.

• Press release