Championing road safety in the United Arab Emirates

Road safety on the global agenda

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has proclaimed 2021–2030 the Decade of Action for Road Safety, with the ambitious target of reducing deaths and serious injuries caused by road traffic by at least 50% by 2030. 

This follows Target 3.6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goal which was “by 2020, [to] halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents”. 

The Quarterly Safety Meeting (QSM)

The company has been conducting the QSM to further raise awareness on road safety and change behaviours where necessary, among drivers who are mostly from the sub-continent. Indeed, some of them transport hydrocarbons, which are a greater risk to other road users. 

Road safety is therefore the collective responsibility of all road users. As the Lead Company in the Road Safety Task Force of Dubai Chamber’s Sustainability Network, Tristar has always extended the invitation to its QSM to other companies with a transport fleet. 

The QSM is an opportunity for customers, suppliers and local authorities to share specific perspectives on road safety with the audience and discuss best practices. Local authorities also help drivers familiarise themselves with upcoming new traffic regulations. An open forum after each lecture encourages interaction with professional drivers. 

One critical item discussed consistently in each meeting is the lessons learned from incidents recorded in the industry. The meeting held in the last quarter of each year also pays tribute to all road victims, as does the United Nation’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, held on the third Sunday of November.

Industry executives conduct Hearts and Minds sessions to help participants become aware of the importance of road safety. The message to all drivers is that “they should drive safely so that they can also go home safely, every day”. Tristar Group founder and CEO Eugene Mayne also delivers a personal safety message at every session. 

A positive impact on road safety

The QSMs have effectively improved Tristar’s road safety performance by reducing incidents, including those caused by third-party drivers. Another incentive is the company’s Drivers Professional League, which recognises and rewards outstanding performance in terms of road and operational safety.

Journey and traffic violations have also drastically reduced and Tristar has achieved its goal of zero fatalities every year for over 405 million kilometers driven. The company’s incident rate has fallen by 62% between 2018 and 2021, from 0.136 to 0.052.

The popularity of QSMs among professional drivers has enabled Tristar’s leadership team to launch the Road Transport 5 Safety Golden Rules (or RT 5S), which are based on the consultations with professional drivers during QSMs, and past incidents history. 

Thanks to its extensive engagement for road safety, Tristar’s corporate reputation as a safe and reliable dangerous goods logistics service provider has earned for itself several safety awards.

To further strengthen the company’s hydrocarbon transport safety practices, Tristar has selected the IRU RoadMasters programme for its operations across the GCC region and Asia. After key staff attended IRU’s Train the Trainer programme for RoadMasters, Tristar is now accredited to rollout the IRU RoadMasters programme to its hydrocarbon drivers. 

Tristar benefits from the digital dashboards to visualise drivers skills profile at various levels, and thus mitigate human factor risks, whilst recognising performance through IRU RoadMasters Certification. 

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto met Eugene Mayne, Tristar’s Chief Executive Officer, during his last trip to the UAE. After being thoroughly briefed on the company’s exemplary safety initiatives, said: “It is companies like Tristar, with such vision and leadership, that make me proud to represent this great industry, and fill me with energy to tell governments around the world that we are the drivers of sustainable change!”