As EU ambassador for road safety, Michael Schumacher explained to MEPs how technology can cut accidents. The EU wants to reduce road deaths by 50% before 2020.

Schumacher: Technology saves lives

New technologies found in cars  can save lives.

This was the message  Michael Schumacher gave to MEPs.

Away from the pits,  the Formula 1 world champion

You can't see but the system can see  children or adults running over the road,

or you can avoid an accident  that you don't see but the car does.

That's amazing.  I feel much safer these days.

But the price of this futuristic  technology is still a barrier for EU drivers.

and other safety measures, like side  impact bars, were also expensive.

Clearly, if we can see  that the technology works,

when it’s put into cars,  the cost will come down.

At the end of the day,  what price can you put on a life?

In 2009, more than 35,000 people died  on EU roads following an accident.

The EU wants to reduce this figure  by 50% before 2020.

We must do everything  to make our roads safer.

Our car industry  is also working very hard.

All of us are either  drivers or passengers.

But technology alone won't solve  all the problems

to reduce the mortality rate  on EU roads.

Speed and alcohol are still too often  the cause of a great number of accidents.