Debmarine Namibia embarked upon a long road safety awareness
campaign to promote and inculcate road-safety consciousness in the country,
primarily among its employees, but also aimed at drivers, passengers and the
community members at large. Road safety and accident prevention are recurring,
frequently explored subjects, although not always from the same perspective.
The campaign conducted by Debmarine Namibia, was firstly rolled out internally
among the company’s employees. The Company routinely captures and monitors
road-related accident statistics of its employees and came to the realisation
that with the rise in road-related risky behaviour, employees are more at risk
away from the workplace than in the workplace.
This led to the introduction of the internal Safety Ripple
Campaign, designed to sensitise employees and create dialogue on the various
aspects of risky road behaviour in an effort to encourage responsible safety
culture and behaviour. Today, the Debmarine Namibia Facebook page published its
locally produced video clip “Driving Safely Is A Social Responsibility”, which
is a social experiment dealing with vehicle maintenance awareness. This is part
of the Company’s external campaign, as a responsible corporate citizen to
encourage other corporates and citizens to weigh in on addressing road safety,
as a social responsibility.
Road Safety requires not only driver fitness, but also
vehicle fitness. A well maintained vehicle not only speaks volumes about the
owner, but also will protect its driver and passengers on the road. The video
shows the diverse reactions of Namibian drivers/passengers from all walks of
life, when suddenly being confronted with possible drastic consequences of
vehicle failure on roads. It is a clear call-to-action to most Namibian drivers
to regularly service their vehicles, especially in December, as fatal accidents
are punctually on the rise at this time of the year.
Spotting risky behavior is part of the campaign, aiming to
make the community more aware of the fundamental importance of vehicle
maintenance, which could alone reduce road fatalities. For every person killed
in traffic crashes, many more suffer serious injuries with life-changing
consequences, such as the story showcased in the Debmarine Namibia’s video.
Serious injuries are not only more common, but also often more costly to
society because of long-time rehabilitation and healthcare needs.
While it may be obvious that accident-related events are
linked to risky behaviour, in Namibia, rollover crashes are mainly attributed
to speeding, fatigue, alcohol, but also worn-out tyres, resulting in the loss
of vehicle control.
Drunk driving is only one of the leading causes of road
accidents and it contributes significantly to accidents on the road. This led
Debmarine Namibia to donate breathalyzers testing kits to the Private Sector
Road Safety Forum and the MVA Fund worth N$ 130 000. The donation aims to
support efforts to reduce drunk driving accidents and save lives.
