human first program : safety by Renault

Over 50 years of safety-related research

Renault has been optimising existing safety systems and developing new ones for more than 50 years. The brand has filed over 2,000 safety patents since 1970. According to Stéphane Buffat, who directs the Laboratory of Accidentology, Biomechanics and Human Behaviour (LAB), this work, coupled with the measures taken by the French road safety authority and successive governments, has helped save 350,000 lives and protected up to 5.8 million people from injury.

The Human First programme, Renault’s vision of safety

Renault has launched the Human First programme in 2023 to present all its safety initiatives to the general public and position itself as a people-centric tech brand. Together, this programme – the result of collaboration between engineers, safety experts, product managers, the LAB and first-aiders (firefighters) – and recent technological developments – such as artificial intelligence – make Renault stand out.

Renault’s approach goes beyond designing safe cars – it is about protecting everybody, not just drivers. Renault is committed to keeping everybody safe on the roads at a time where alternative transport solutions (such as e-bikes and e-scooters) become more popular and people switch between walking, cycling and driving with their family, friends and colleagues.

“Renault’s approach to safety and substantial investments in safety-related R&D effectively illustrate its [Luca de Meo-driven] transition from a traditional car manufacturer to a leading mobility services and tech company.”

Arnaud Belloni, VP, Renault Brand, Global Marketing

The Human First programme focuses on three key safety-related priorities:

1. Preventing accidents by developing advanced driver-assistance systems (ADASs) and safety equipment: More than 36 ADASs and 60 pieces of safety equipment are used across the Renault range, helping prevent and reduce the severity of collisions and injuries.
2. Managing road accidents more effectively by establishing a unique partnership with firefighters across Europe: Over 5,000 firefighters across 19 countries have received training, and major post-crash management innovations (such as Fireman Access and QRescue Renault) have been developed, helping first responders to work much more efficiently.
3. Reducing the number of accidents by making substantial investments in R&D and developing on-board technologies, such as Safety Score and Safety Coach, and connected services.

A comprehensive international communications campaign

The programme will be the focal point of a campaign deployed across a wide range of channels this year. A 30-second video will be broadcast on TV, and a unique documentary on the collaboration between firefighters and Renault will run on various digital platforms.

Carefully crafted by Publicis Conseil and Renault, the video was produced by Les Réalité and broadcast on French television as part of Renault’s series of resolutions in January. Shot from a driver’s perspective, the video shows various road users (including pedestrians, cyclists and bikers) in a range of situations. The driver gets out of her car at the end of the video, becoming a pedestrian in the process. This shift reminds viewers that people can and do use roads in a number of different ways and that Renault technologies (advanced driver-assistance systems, QRescue and Safety Coach) help make our roads a safer place for everybody at all times.

The campaign will be deployed in Europe, running on TV in France, Italy, Spain and Germany and on digital platforms elsewhere across the continent, then in Latin America and India in late 2023.