Driving the importance of road safety
Published Apr 29, 2022 12:05 am
DRIVING THOUGHTS
Pinky Concha Colmenares
So many people are talking about road safety because it affects all of us who need mobility for basic human activities – work, worship, school, socialization.
What is the community doing about keeping our roads safe?
In the motoring industry, automotive and motorcycle companies have invested resources to keep our roads safe by educating road users. Early this month, four motoring companies were recognized with the Driven To Serve Award for their initiatives in ensuring road safety through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that have been in existence for many years.
The Driven To Serve Award is a project of the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ).
“Driving Skills For Life, a CSR program of Ford Group Philippines, has been ongoing for 13 years now. It was recognized with the Driven To Serve gold award for road safety.
Two outstanding CSR programs on road safety were recognized with the silver Driven to Serve award in the automobile category: Teen Smart of Honda Cars Philippines, and Suzuki Safety Scouts of Suzuki Philippines. In the motorcycle category, the Suzuki Safety Riding Webinar program was given the silver award.
Driving Skills For Life (DSFL)
Ford’s road safety program is now a well-known initiative among many companies who have participated in one of its driving seminars. Among them are public utility vehicle drivers and private motorists.
Its most recent program which is now in the digital platform, was designed within the driving and road conditions set by the new normal which had kept most motorists away from the roads especially during the lockdown restrictions.
In September 2021, Ford Philippines launched DSFL on its 13th edition, with topics to help drivers hone their driving skills so they can be better and safer drivers when they go back on the road. With the theme “Safe Driving in the New Normal,” this year’s DSFL covered timely topics such as pandemic car care and maintenance tips, car sanitation and disinfection, and driving techniques during the rainy weather. These are in addition to the existing DSFL training module which covers basic vehicle dynamics and handling, driving in various conditions, anti-distracted driving, and fuel-efficient driving.
Long-time partner and training facilitator Tuason Racing School conducted the virtual DSFL program and provided an interactive training session with more instructional videos, games, and contests.
This year’s DSFL conducted 21 virtual training sessions in the span of four months; 1,670 attended the virtual seminars on Zoom; and conducted 12 public sessions.
Teen Smart
Now on its 18th year, the Teen Smart program that started in 2004 aims to develop the youth’s consciousness on road safety and strengthen their sense of responsibility in reducing road accidents as pedestrians and future drivers.
The program provided interactive seminar-workshops to all public senior high School students in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The workshops discussed practical road safety topics such as traffic rules and regulations, messages from vehicles, road users' physical/mental conditions, characteristics of vehicles, anticipation of traffic and environment conditions.
The sessions were conducted by Honda Motor Japan-trained instructors of the Honda Safety Driving Center, the first world class training facility for driving and riding in the Philippines. Online learning sessions will run until May 2022.
Suzuki Safety Scouts
Suzuki Philippines’ CSR program was designed to educate and build a community of children who will be advocates of road safety. The program has been running since 2018 and has trained more than 2,000 kids, ages 4 to 14.
With the limitations set by the pandemic, Suzuki has continued its road safety advocacy on the digital platform conducted in a classroom type webinar where a scout master teaches participants the basic road safety signs.
The success of the program has inspired Suzuki Philippines to make plans to extend its road safety advocacy to young adults who will be road users soon, as drivers.
The company plans to partner with local government units and schools to reach more young adults who can benefit from the virtual seminars on road safety.
Suzuki Riding Webinar
In the motorcycle category, Suzuki Philippines has supported road safety through its webinars.
Most online sessions are scheduled before a group ride of the Suzuki Motorcycle Club, where lessons are later put into practice on the road, and questions and feedback on the module lessons are entertained.
The company now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest road safety lesson set on Feb. 26, 2017 – with 4,178 participants!
The Suzuki Safety Riding Authority program is supported by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) Japan, and the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
Pinky Concha Colmenares
So many people are talking about road safety because it affects all of us who need mobility for basic human activities – work, worship, school, socialization.
What is the community doing about keeping our roads safe?
In the motoring industry, automotive and motorcycle companies have invested resources to keep our roads safe by educating road users. Early this month, four motoring companies were recognized with the Driven To Serve Award for their initiatives in ensuring road safety through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that have been in existence for many years.
The Driven To Serve Award is a project of the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ).
“Driving Skills For Life, a CSR program of Ford Group Philippines, has been ongoing for 13 years now. It was recognized with the Driven To Serve gold award for road safety.
Two outstanding CSR programs on road safety were recognized with the silver Driven to Serve award in the automobile category: Teen Smart of Honda Cars Philippines, and Suzuki Safety Scouts of Suzuki Philippines. In the motorcycle category, the Suzuki Safety Riding Webinar program was given the silver award.
Driving Skills For Life (DSFL)
Ford’s road safety program is now a well-known initiative among many companies who have participated in one of its driving seminars. Among them are public utility vehicle drivers and private motorists.
Its most recent program which is now in the digital platform, was designed within the driving and road conditions set by the new normal which had kept most motorists away from the roads especially during the lockdown restrictions.
In September 2021, Ford Philippines launched DSFL on its 13th edition, with topics to help drivers hone their driving skills so they can be better and safer drivers when they go back on the road. With the theme “Safe Driving in the New Normal,” this year’s DSFL covered timely topics such as pandemic car care and maintenance tips, car sanitation and disinfection, and driving techniques during the rainy weather. These are in addition to the existing DSFL training module which covers basic vehicle dynamics and handling, driving in various conditions, anti-distracted driving, and fuel-efficient driving.
Long-time partner and training facilitator Tuason Racing School conducted the virtual DSFL program and provided an interactive training session with more instructional videos, games, and contests.
This year’s DSFL conducted 21 virtual training sessions in the span of four months; 1,670 attended the virtual seminars on Zoom; and conducted 12 public sessions.
Teen Smart
Now on its 18th year, the Teen Smart program that started in 2004 aims to develop the youth’s consciousness on road safety and strengthen their sense of responsibility in reducing road accidents as pedestrians and future drivers.
The program provided interactive seminar-workshops to all public senior high School students in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The workshops discussed practical road safety topics such as traffic rules and regulations, messages from vehicles, road users' physical/mental conditions, characteristics of vehicles, anticipation of traffic and environment conditions.
The sessions were conducted by Honda Motor Japan-trained instructors of the Honda Safety Driving Center, the first world class training facility for driving and riding in the Philippines. Online learning sessions will run until May 2022.
Suzuki Safety Scouts
Suzuki Philippines’ CSR program was designed to educate and build a community of children who will be advocates of road safety. The program has been running since 2018 and has trained more than 2,000 kids, ages 4 to 14.
With the limitations set by the pandemic, Suzuki has continued its road safety advocacy on the digital platform conducted in a classroom type webinar where a scout master teaches participants the basic road safety signs.
The success of the program has inspired Suzuki Philippines to make plans to extend its road safety advocacy to young adults who will be road users soon, as drivers.
The company plans to partner with local government units and schools to reach more young adults who can benefit from the virtual seminars on road safety.
Suzuki Riding Webinar
In the motorcycle category, Suzuki Philippines has supported road safety through its webinars.
Most online sessions are scheduled before a group ride of the Suzuki Motorcycle Club, where lessons are later put into practice on the road, and questions and feedback on the module lessons are entertained.
The company now holds the Guinness World Record for the largest road safety lesson set on Feb. 26, 2017 – with 4,178 participants!
The Suzuki Safety Riding Authority program is supported by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) Japan, and the Land Transportation Office (LTO).