Chevron Bangladesh President Neil Menzies inaugurated a multi-year community road safety awareness programme on the premises of the Bibiyana Gas Plant recently.
The programme, implemented by Skills-Craft Associates, will emphasise vehicles and drivers operating on two major thoroughfares near Chevron’s Bibiyana and Maulvibazar facilities in Nabiganj and Srimangal Upazilas respectively.
Chevron’s Director for Policy, Govt and Public Affairs, Ismail Chowdhury; Director for Health, Environment and Safety, Ashiq Rahman; Bibiyana Gas Plant Superintendent, Don Lewis; CEO and Lead Trainer, Skills-Craft Associates, Mahabub Alam; and other representatives from Bibiyana Gas Plant’s Leadership Team, were present at the inaugural ceremony.
Menzies distributed certificates among the first group of 30 Nabiganj-based drivers who successfully completed the two-day training session.
Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the initiative, as it taps into the need for the community to increase awareness of safe driving and pedestrian behaviors.
He further expressed the hope that the current project will build on the success of Chevron’s previous three-year programme with BRAC, which provided defensive driving training to 1,000 drivers of highway buses, trucks and local non-motorized vehicles operating in the Bibiyana area.
Ismail Chowdhury stressed on the importance of safety and mentioned Chevron’s exemplary record of safety in all aspects of its business, including fleet management – nearly 16 million kilometers driven without a major motor vehicle crash.
He said, “Beyond the perimeters of Chevron’s facilities, our vehicles share communal thoroughfares with other road users. Therefore, awareness of safe behaviors for drivers and pedestrians alike will ensure that everyone returns home safely to their families every day.”
According to the 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2018, the number of WHO-estimated road traffic fatalities in Bangladesh stood at nearly 25,000 in 2016.
Chevron’s programme is intended to build awareness on safe road behaviours and build drivers’ defensive driving skills, with a goal of reducing traffic accidents.
