Alumni Spotlight: Axel Rimbaud, Chile

I am a DRSC Alumni of 2023 and founder of MEL (Movimiento Contra el Exceso de Velocidad Letal), a Chilean road safety NGO. My aim is to reduce road crash fatalities and serious injuries in Chile through the application of the Safe System Approach, a core principle of DRSC.  

Through MEL, I have been working with a coalition of Chilean road safety NGOs, the Commission of Road Safety (CONASET), and the Ministry of Transport to reform several laws related to speeding in Chile. These include the reduction of speed limits in cities, the introduction of a national radar system, and the formal categorisation of high speeding as an offence.  

In recognition of this work and our success in getting these legal amendments approved, earlier this year, I was nominated as a finalist of the 2024 EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Awards.  

The EIT awards aim to promote innovation in the fields of climate, energy, digital transformation, food, health, industry, raw materials and urban mobility. The final award ceremony was held during the EIT Annual Summit in Brussels, Belgium on 20 February.  

I was awarded third prize in the Changemaker category for which I received a cash prize, which was shared between the four NGOs involved (MEL, Fundación Emilia, ONG No Chat and Bicicultura) in recognition of our common effort. During the ceremony, my contributions to the EIT Urban Mobility community, for which I provide road safety training and create content, were also rewarded.  

I participated in this award process mainly as platform to demonstrate the importance of road safety – presenting in front of 700+ innovators, entrepreneurs, journalists and public authorities. Thanks to the support of the road safety community, and especially the Delft Road Safety Course Alumni network, I finished second place in the public vote for the award. I believe that this displays how road safety matters to many and I am grateful to have this network to draw upon to make our case for safer roads on the global stage. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you, and together let’s make our roads safer.