Caltex launches 'Drive Wise and Embrace Life'

Road accidents cause the most number of annual deaths in Sri Lanka. On an average '150 road accidents and six deaths occur on a daily basis'.

Caltex and the Traffic Police have launched a media campaign, for the fifth consecutive year, to make Sri Lankan roads safer for citizens, especially child commuters, through its 'Drive Wise and Embrace Life' .

The company's efforts to increase awareness through thought-provoking campaign messages on road safety since 2009 are part of a long-term CSR plan conceptualised by Caltex to curtail road accident injuries and fatalities.

The campaign 'Drive Wise and Embrace Life' was designed with an emphasis on children. To date, over Rs. 20 million has been invested by Caltex towards road safety initiatives.

"Each year, millions of rupees are incurred by the government to treat victims of road accidents. Several children and adults succumb to fatal injuries caused by negligent and reckless driving and commuting behaviour, said Managing Director and CEO, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, Kishu Gomes.

"We strongly believe that sustainable improvement in road safety will follow only when the reckless behaviour of motorists and pedestrians can be positively influenced and impacted through repetitive awareness and reinforcement," he said.

"As such, all our road safety CSR initiatives to date have been developed on the premise of creating more awareness and reinforcement among commuters across all walks of life. After all, safety is everyone's responsibility," Gomes said.

According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013 published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 59% of those killed in road traffic crashes are between the ages of 15 and 44 years and 77% are male.

Pedestrians and cyclists constitute 27% of all road deaths. In some countries this figure is higher than 75%, demonstrating decades of neglect of the needs of these road users in transport policies, in favour of motorised transport.

The risk of dying as a result of a road traffic injury is highest in the WHO African Region at 24.1 per 100,000 population and lowest in the WHO European Region at 10.3 per 100,000 population.