Dubai-based Tristar Group has made great strides in implementing effective road safety measures to achieve the UN Sustainability Development Goal No. 3 on ‘Good Health and Well Being’, particularly, Goal 3.6 to reduce the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
At a panel discussion at the “Best Practices and Benchmarking Forum 2017” organized by Dubai Economy’s Business Excellence Division in collaboration with Emirates Benchmarking Forum, Tristar Group CEO, Eugene Mayne, shared the company’s involvement and commitment to addressing the Goal which was launched at the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ by the UN in 2011 to halve the number of global deaths by injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020.
Mayne spoke in length sharing the best practices adopted by Tristar since inception, to achieve “zero” or no accidents by the company’s heavy-duty truck and tanker drivers, by building a culture of safety based on the 4 Es – Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Evaluation.
Mayne commented: “Our Goal ZERO is in line with the Dubai Police’s vision for zero road fatalities per 100,000 population by 2020. I strongly believe that this is achievable because more than 90% of road accidents are caused by human error which can be prevented by continuous awareness campaigns, ensuring vehicle safety, enforcement of best practices, and periodic audits.”
“At Tristar, we always remind our truck drivers on our ‘Golden Rules’ which include driving within the speed limit especially when approaching a roundabout, using the slow lane, keeping a safe distance, wearing seat-belt and not using phone while driving. In addition, we ask them to contemplate on the consequences if they are involved or killed in an accident especially impact on family ,children and loved ones. Part of the program is to ensure that all vehicles are maintained in good condition. There are fixed number of hours for driving as well as continuous driving, to reduce strain and fatigue for our drivers,” he added.
Mayne highlighted that Tristar leverages the latest technology to drive safety improvements in their operations.
“We have installed a driving simulator wherein truck drivers are trained and simulation is conducted for safe driving as well as for any incident like a front tire burst wherein the skills of the driver in controlling the vehicle would be tested. The company is now installing facial recognition technology that can assess the drivers’ level of fatigue based on his eye movements and alert them so that they do not sleep at the wheel,” he further added.
Mayne also requested the audience to make safety a part of their lifestyle and avoid using mobile phones while driving so that accidents could be prevented and they could contribute to making Dubai Police’ vision of zero road fatalities by 2020 a reality.
Tristar has played a leading role in promoting road safety in the UAE. The ‘Let’s Go Home Safely’ campaign in partnership with UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Traffic Awareness Department of the Roads and Transport Authority was recognized as an effective Corporate Social Responsibility initiative by the Arabia CSR Network and the Supply Chain and Transport Awards.
