Tristar partners with RTA and RoSPA to launch road safety awareness workshop in Dubai

Workshop conducted a month after the horrific bus crash which killed 13 workers

A road safety awareness workshop was launched today at the RTA Bus Depot in Al Aweer and will target more than 500 heavy duty drivers from all across the UAE to receive first hand training or defensive driving from road safety experts who have specially flown in from the UK.

UAE based Tristar Transport has commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) from the UK to launch the TRISTAR Road Safety Awareness Campaign workshop under the auspices of Road & Transport Authority (RTA).

Alan Timms of RoSPA, a non profit organization with around 100 years of experience in managing road safety worldwide, presented before a select group of heavy duty drivers and transport supervisors the causes of road accidents. He also adviced the participants to improve their decision making while on the road.

Heavy duty drivers are those driving buses, trucks, trailers and tankers. Last May 10, a horrific bus accident killed 13 workers and injured more than a dozen people. Accidents caused by heavy duty vehicles are sometimes catastrophic like the fuel truck which crashed into a flyover in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2012 which triggered an explosion and damaging an industrial building.

'Driver education is fundamental throughout the world. Every heavy duty driver should be made aware of the results of their actions owing to the size of their vehicles', Timms explained. RoSPA has used its vast experience to develop an extensive range of safety training courses and delivery methods.

Engineer Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic Department at the Traffic and Roads Agency said: ' We in the RTA believe in the importance of strategic partnerships with the private and other government sectors in Dubai, and in particular to share the importance of awareness targeting sections of the community to raise their level of understanding regarding traffic in the Emirate of Dubai. During the past years, we did not stop supporting outreach efforts undertaken by private companies in Dubai, including the latest by Tristar that deserves our thank you in disseminating the safety culture to the public especially drivers of heavy trucks. We believe that the existing partnership projects with large transport companies should continue to support all campaigns aimed at raising traffic awareness for drivers. '

Tristar Group CEO Eugeine Mayne added: ' As a major player in oil & gas logistics, we are conscious of the potential consequences of an incident, involving road tankers transporting flammable products, and we remain committed to sharing our experiences and international best practices to make the roads safer for all users in the UAE and GCC'.

The Dubai based company which recently received two awards from RoSPA for its best practices in managing of road risks and in occupational health and safety, commissioned to the UK based organization to create road safety awareness and to promote safe driving practices within the heavy vehicle driver community in the UAE.