On 13 of February a road safety workshop for managers responsible for compliance with road safety measures in car fleets was conducted. The training was also dedicated to drivers who work in the organizations with a big number of cars, involved in the project. The event took place within the “Safe driving is life!” project, financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and implemented by the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) from the UK and the Automobile Club of Moldova. Local experts have been trained by British and Austrian specialists in the field, who shared their experiences in addressing the problem of work-related road casualties.
This project will address:
- Driver standards among public sector fleets
- Road safety management of drivers by public sector fleet managers
- Driving standards and road safety management among private, maxi-taxi operators
- Driving standards and road safety management among commercial fleets
On the second day of the workshop, on February 14 there was organized an Award Ceremony in which the best and safest drivers were elected from the companies involved in the project. The winning drivers were given awards during the Award and Commitment Ceremony.
The competition involved the following categories of drivers:
- Trolleybus drivers
- Maxi-Taxi drivers
- Bus drivers
- Drivers of Emergency Service
- Police drivers
- Drivers of commercial companies’ fleets
Contest participants were selected by the leaders of their organizations, and in the second stage were checked with the help of Road Police, based on the following criteria: 0 accidents, 0 violations of the Road Traffic Regulation, discipline, respect, and responsibility for passengers and other traffic participants. The winning-drivers were presented with valuable prizes from the “Petrom”, “Orange” and “DAAC Hermes” companies.
At the Award Ceremony the prizes were presented by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Dorin Recean and former F1 pilot and double champion of Les Mans 24 Hours, Alex Wurz.
The participating organizations also received special reflective stickers, which will be posted on all their units of transport as a sign of support and promotion of safe driving.
At the end of the event there was organized a press conference with the participation of Mr. Recean, Alex Wurz and road safety experts from Austria and the UK.
We would like to mention that such ceremonies will be held annually to encourage drivers to comply with Road Traffic Regulation and hope that the respect while driving will become a habit. The next stage of the project “Safe driving is life!” will take place this autumn and during that period, in the project will be involved namely the commercial companies working in Moldova.
We urge everyone to be aware of traffic and to join our campaign in order to achieve the noble goal of reducing road accidents and number of victims by 50% by 2020!
Together we can save millions of lives!
Video: www.Canal3.md