“For us, an important sporting event like the Giro d’Italia is an opportunity to carry on our #rispettiamoci campaign, launched in 2019 to reaffirm the importance of coexistence between motorists and cyclists”. The president of Aci, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, was in Turin this morning for the start of the Giro d’Italia, of which the Automobile club is the institutional sponsor. However, users of two and four wheels are often frowned upon. “We are against the opposition, we need a fair coexistence. The cyclist is more vulnerable and for this he needs an area of respect, that is to say a physical distance from the cars that protects him ”, says Sticchi Damiani. “Of course, the principles must then be placed in the reality of Italian cities, where restricting too much the space dedicated to cars to create cycle paths can increase vehicular traffic and create environmental problems that then impact everyone, including cyclists”.
The 2020 figure relating to accidents is not statistically significant due to the stringent limitations for Covid-19, but in 2019 Italy there were 172,183 accidents with injuries, of these 2,982 were fatal: in total, 3,173 were killed on the road and 241,384 the wounded. The total deaths of pedestrians and cyclists were 787, about 25% of the total, a percentage that rises to 42% if we refer to the deaths only in the inhabited center. “I would like to say a word about pedestrians,” says the president of the ACI. “When we drive we must remember that we are all pedestrians. This category needs the utmost respect: I would not like to exaggerate with this term, but I think pedestrians should be ‘pampered’. As motorists, we must also protect them from their own mistakes, because whoever crosses without looking, perhaps phoning, makes a serious mistake but we must foresee his behavior so as not to run over him “.
On this occasion, Sticchi Damiani with La Stampa took stock of the ACI situation. In 2020, despite the pandemic and the consequent reduction in mobility, the number of Aci members remained substantially stable at just under one million, “thanks also to the great work done by the members management”. Aci and Motorizzazione are ready for the debut of the single document which from 30 June, after several postponements, will replace the vehicle registration document and certificate of ownership. “We await June 30 with great serenity”, guarantees the president.
And on sport, he is proud that Italy hosts two Formula 1 GPs in Monza: “Imola and Emilia Romagna also deserve a Grand Prix”, he says. “Italy is the right exception to the rule according to which a country cannot host more than one Formula 1 race, we are the only ones in the world to have three circuits approved for F1, with Mugello. I want to remind you that next year the Monza circuit turns 100 and has always hosted Formula 1, since its inception: these are unique historical data ”.
Speaking of the centenary, Sticchi Damiani hopes for a “restyling” of the structure that “has had its years, albeit well worn”. The racetrack has always been managed by a company federated to the Automobile Club of Italy, but it is owned by the Consortium Villa Reale and Parco di Monza, which includes the Lombardy Region and the Municipalities of Milan and Monza and “the Aci non it is entitled to spend resources on a structure that is not its property “. The ACI has already had a series of interventions designed by its internal companies, which include the reconstruction of the underpasses, the stands, the surface of the track and the recovery of the high-speed track. “About 100 million euros would be needed, an even more beautiful and modern racetrack would emerge”.
