F1 drivers as role models
That he suffered nothing more than a slight concussion was, according to a report released this week by the International Automobile Federation, the sport's governing body, thanks to a perfect functioning of all of the safety measures developed in recent years.
Drivers and other Formula One officials also said the crash showed just how much better road car safety could be with further research and development.
"I hope what Formula One achieves in terms of safety standards will be one day translated to the street," said the Williams driver, Alexander Wurz, immediately after the accident. "I think an accident like Robert's today shows how much safer cars can be and what you can get away with."
Yet many people question how it is possible to reconcile motor racing and its virtues of speed, daring and finishing first, with the 1.2 million annual highway deaths worldwide. And road accidents are the No. 1 killer worldwide of people aged 10 to 24.
Lewis Hamilton, 22, as a popular national figure and championship leader, said he realized he was becoming a role model for that age group.
"I'm starting to notice it and starting to see the importance of my actions, the way people perceive me and the image that I portray," Hamilton said in an interview last week. "I have to make sure I stay on the right route and try to do what is best. Not only for me, but what's best for the youngsters."
That is why Cynthia Ranyak is on a personal campaign to demand help to promote safe driving from the motor racing community. Ranyak's 18-year-old daughter, Emily, died in a car accident in Florida in 2005. The car was driven by William Riehl, also 18, a friend of Marco Andretti, a racer and grandson of the Formula One champion Mario Andretti.
Ranyak blames the racing mentality for the death of her daughter. She says that not enough is being done to warn teenagers of the dangers of racing.
"We have warnings on cigarettes and alcohol, and you have to be 21 to go to an 'adult' club; so why should race cars go unregulated?" said Ranyak in an e-mail.
In fact, the relationship between road safety and car racing has never been more closely tied and mutually supportive as it is today. Formula One is directly responsible for the creation and funding of the FIA Foundation, which works with the United Nations and the World Bank to improve highway safety. More at International Herald Tribune [Also: Champ Car is sponsoring the Hands On The Wheel Program to help make drivers aware of better road safety.]