Duo completes 10,000-mile safety-themed trek in Aston Martin
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The two Brits who embarked on a journey to cross the entire Asian Highway road network in an Aston Martin V-8 Vantage completed their trip yesterday, having crossed 10,000 miles between Tokyo and London. The object of the epic drive was to raise awareness for road safety, pointing to shocking statistics regarding deaths and injuries on the world's roads.
Beginning June 25, Richard Meredith and Phil Colley left Japan on the 49-day trip that saw them pass through 18 different countries, including Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, and Germany. The Aston Martin was a development model on loan from the factory that had already surpassed the 100,000 mile mark, but despite the heavy miles, proved more than up to the task. Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez (pictured at center with the Meredith and Colley), has announced the car will be auctioned shortly, with proceeds benefiting the UNICEF China fund.
It is estimated that 150,000 deaths occurred on the world's roads in the time it took the duo to complete their trip. The UN and World Bank estimate that at least 440,000 are killed and 30 million are injured on Asian roads each year, and that by 2020, two-thirds of the world's road deaths may occur on Asian roads due to the growth of the automotive industry.
An approximate 1.2 million people are killed on roads across the world each year, amounting to over 3,000 deaths per day. More information on road safety can be found at www.makeroadssafe.org.
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