Grapevine: Schumacher to appear in London

The seven-time world champion is due to speak at a luncheon in central London on April 23.

The aim of the week is to raise awareness of the scale of road safety problems - with more than one million people killed in road accidents in the developing world each year.

The campaign has received support from Formula One drivers, who have signed a petition backing an FIA initiative for a United Nations summit to discuss road safety.

World champion Fernando Alonso said: "For me it's very important to support this campaign and make safety the first priority in our cars in everyday life.

"I think we need to improve safety and we need to improve the roads, make the roads safe and I think we can do this if everyone works in the same directions."

Teammate Lewis Hamilton added: "I think that people need to sit back and really think about how many people are dying on the roads and what we can do about it.

"It is important we take precautionary measures, such as checking that you have the right tyre pressures in your tyres. That is the only contact we have with the road when we're in the car so just make sure that they are the right temperature, and the right pressure.

"I know when I'm in the race car the first thing, the priority is safety. So my seat belt, my HANS device, my helmet, my gloves - everything that is going to keep me safe, so make sure you make these checks."