At least 200 commercial drivers have been educated on road safety to promote and enhance the physical and mental well-being of drivers in the country.
The initiative, Fit2Drive is organised by Vivo Energy Ghana (a Shell licensee), in partnership with the National Road Safety Authority and other transporters seeks to maintain optimal health and safety standards on the road.
At the Sekondi Trotro station, drivers were screened for basic occupational health conditions associated with their work to reduce road traffic accidents. Vivo Energy Ghana also distributes thermometers, glucometers and blood pressure for the drivers to monitor their health and stay safe on the roads.
The Head of Corporate Communications Manager at Vivo Energy Ghana, Shirley Tony Kum said the company is targeting over one thousand commercial drivers in the country to reduce road accidents adding that the initiative is part of its corporate social responsibility to improve road safety.
“Every year, we do a program and partnerships with the National Road Safety Authority and our transporters, and this year, we train drivers on road safety and promote their wellbeing. As a company, we’ve realized that due to the busy schedule of our commercial drivers taking good care of their health is something that is a challenge so as a company through the ‘Fit 2 Drive’ wellness program to promote the health and the well-being of commercial drivers,”
“We’ve made it a point to do this an annual program and for this year we’re targeting 1,000 commercial drivers. The program was launched in Accra and today we’re in Takoradi we will be going to Koforidua on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and Friday, October 4, 2024, at Kumasi and Teheiman also follows, so the nationwide program that we are doing is to ensure that our drivers are fit to drive.
“If you’re a driver and you’re not too well, you can’t work so I will advise our drivers to take their health seriously,” she explained
For his part, the Western Regional Head of the National Road Safety Authority, Mr. Victor Kojo Bilson commended Vivo Energy Ghana’s continuous efforts to promote driver wellness and education, emphasising that the initiative Fit2Drive suits the authority’s safety management strategies.
He expressed concern over the rise in road accidents during election years, saying the period presents significant challenges for road safety and hence urged drivers to be cautious this year.
“Fit2Drive suits what we do at the National Road Safety Authority because what we do is to let the drivers understand before they embark on their journey but the most important factor when it comes to Road safety is the human being because they contribute to over 90 per cent of all traffic crashes so if the one behind defects, the tendency of the person getting involved in a crash is very high so we want them to understand that is not just the vehicle on the road but they will have to take care of themselves before they even think of the car they are going to move,”
And also substance and drug abuse have been something that we have been campaigning for some time, now it’s not just the drug or alcohol but the other things that they use which are very difficult to detect if you are using the normal machine, so we want to draw their attention to it because it harms their immune system.” He said
Author: Dorothy Donkor
