More than 200 experts from various fields, including automakers, researchers, politicians, and representatives from associations and insurance companies, met together in the Automobile Club de France on 15 September 2008 to discuss Safety: can technology do everything? at the second Valeo Forum. The participants compared their views of motoring safety during a round-table session with five experts, and then continued discussions during dinner. All agreed on the same observation: with 1.2 million road deaths worldwide in 2007 (according to UN statistics), improving motoring safety should now be a priority shared by everyone concerned - government, car makers and equipment suppliers, and drivers.

Michèle Merli, the interministerial delegate for road safety, underlined in her introduction the strong commitment of the government to fight for greater safety on the roads. The experts then drew attention to technology’s positive contribution to improving road safety, especially by protecting drivers and passengers, and reducing the impact of accidents or preventing them. On the other hand, the speakers felt that despite the use of embedded technologies, however effective as they may be, human driving behaviour is the main cause of road accidents. This means that technology innovation alone will not be able to solve the problem of road safety, and that both infrastructure and driving behaviour must advance. This entire issue therefore needs to be dealt with through a global, integrated approach.

Faced with the growing use of cars around the world, and the increasing risk of road accidents, the experts called for more effective driving education policies, either by using more forms of control, or through better driver training.

Thierry Morin, Chairman and CEO of Valeo, brought the proceedings to an end by reaffirming the need to pursue innovation in car safety. As cars become increasingly safe, they will continue to provide the mobility and individual freedom desired by users.