The initiatives were presented by Scania's President and CEO Leif Östling in conjunction with a top-level safety conference in Brussels hosted by Scania. Among the attendants were more than 250 decision-makers from the European Commission, the European Parliament, as well as other EU Affairs officials, journalists and industry representatives.

In his opening speech, Mr Östling noted that the death toll on European roads, with 41,000 persons killed in the year 2000, is evidence that great efforts need to be implemented right away. In view of the potential of and increasing use of new technologies, it is also necessary to start cross-disciplinary cooperation in the field of road safety.