Thursday March 28th, 2024
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How Hyundai and Ghabbour Auto Are Tackling Egypt's Road Accident Endemic Head-On

Companies can apply to give their workforce direct training and education on road safety.

Staff Writer

It would be a lie to claim that Egypt doesn’t have a driving problem. According to the World Health Organization, 12,000 people die in traffic accidents in Egypt every year. That’s a rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 Egyptians. One of the most direct and effective ways of tackling road accidents has been Hyundai’s Safe Driving Initiative “Salamtak Tehemena 2018” in partnership with GB Ghabbour Auto.

Having first launched in 2016, the program, which is offered to companies as an inclusive employee initiative, aims to increase drivers’ awareness around traffic accidents, their causes and techniques to prevent them, as well as provide trainees with information and statistics about road accidents and the numbers of deaths resulting from road accidents around the world, all through a bundle of stimulating visuals, handouts, and interactive material. The training covers bus, truck, and passenger car drivers.

The high rate of fatalities makes for shocking reading, but when you consider how, for example, poorly enforced even the most basic of safety measures are and the epidemical lack of consideration and awareness demonstrated by drivers, it makes for even worse reading – when will the madness end?

It might be hard to see the end of this particular tunnel, but it seems like we’ve been slowly but surely heading in the right direction. Between 2016 and 2017, Egypt saw a 24% decrease in traffic accidents, thanks to increased education on safe driving, improved road networks, and programs aimed at increasing awareness around road accidents.

Since 2016, Hyundai and Ghabbour Auto have managed to train 1000 drivers every year, and are planning to train a further 1000 in this year’s initiative. Following the success of the program in the last two years, many large corporations will be taking part in this year’s edition, with plans to expand in the following years. Companies taking part as recipients in the fruitful program include Juhayna Food Industries, Malvern College, Oasis School and Taqa. The training is provided by SETTEC Training and Consultancy - a leading health & safety consultant with particular strength in driver training services that has been operating in Egypt since 1998 - and drivers taking part of the program will receive a RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) accredited certificate at the end of the program. It’s guaranteed:  no one will be roasting you on your driving after receiving an accreditation from RoSPA, who has more than 100 years of experience in road safety.

What makes this particular initiative different is the fact that it goes beyond clever slogans and heart-string-tugging commercials. It gives Egyptians the tools and skills to improve their own driving – something that can hopefully trigger a nationwide shift in the right direction.

The 2018 edition is set to launch this week. For more information, click here.

Main image by Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times