30/11/2010
The workshop was conducted by Ms. Bernadette Bhacker, Director, Sustainability LLC. Talking about safe driving aspects in the Sultanate, Bernadette called upon companies to have a responsibility to employ and engage drivers who are ‘fit to drive’ to ensure others are not put at risk by their work-related activities, including driving.
“Your involvement and action as head of the company will affect the attitudes and behaviours of others and set the organisation’s fleet safety culture,” she told the entrepreneurs, adding, “As an employer you have a duty of care for the health, safety and well-being of your staff, contractors and the population in the areas in which you operate.”
Bernadette called upon companies to invest in drivers having good qualification, valid licence and training. “The establishments should understand that road safety is a shared responsibility and they should put good systems and policies in place to improve the safety standards,” she said.
The director of Sustainability LLC said road crash death figures are still a worrying factor for Oman, adding, “Over the last few years, the crashes have occurred to a variety of reasons like rapid development, highly motorised roads, high performance vehicles, high portion of male drivers, poor driver training, low levels of road safety education, fast roads and high posted speed limits and limited speed management measures.”
She called upon the people to be more pro-active by asking for better road safety standards. The change is happening in the Sultanate and the next decade will be crucial in this regard, Bernadette added.
Dinkar Kishor, Assistant General Manager of Sharakah said: “The primary objective of organsing this workshop is to spread awareness among Omani entrepreneurs about road safety so that they can bring a change in the attitude and behaviour of their employees while on roads."
“Other than financing the projects, we try to look into various aspects of running a successful business. We mentor our investors time and again, and the Driving for Better Business workshop is one such initiative,” he added.
Yaqoub Khalfan Salim Al-Mahrooqi, an entrepreneur and a participant, praised the efforts of Sharakah for organizing the workshop, and urged all businessmen to make road safety their numero uno priority.
Sharakah is the brand name of the Fund for Development of Youth Projects. Its core objectives are to provide equity and other means of financial support to small and medium enterprises owned by Omani entrepreneurs.