DUBAI // Safety experts tugged at the emotions of lorry drivers by asking them to remember family back home before they set out on the road.
“If anything happens to you, the impact will be felt by your family, so look at their photograph before you start the vehicle,” said Mohammed Akber, general manager for health and safety at Tristar, a liquid logistics solutions provider at a training workshop designed by the UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
“I guarantee that before you press the accelerator too hard or think of taking a shortcut, you will remember your son, daughter and wife, and think that you should take gifts home for them rather than have them see your body in a box.”
More than 120 heavy-vehicle drivers and supervisors from 17 companies attended the four-hour event organised by the Dubai Chamber as part of a year-long initiative to spread awareness. Its simple message was “Let’s go home safely”.
“I shivered when I heard about our families because we have travelled so far to make things better, not worse,” said Umer Kayan, who works for a transport company.
“We have to be very careful because everyone speeds, so even one mistake can be the last.”
There were 159 deaths caused by traffic accidents last year with 147 in 2013, according to Dubai Traffic Police statistics.
One person was killed and another 17 injured in road accidents last week, with two involving lorries, according to police.
“We want to give them a strong message, not to be safe just because the Dubai Chamber or government asks, but connect safety to their hearts,” Mr Akber said.
“Heavy-vehicle drivers are the most vulnerable since their vehicles carry chemicals or flammable material that can cause several casualties.”
Drivers were warned that mistakes were caused by fatigue and the use of mobile phones. They were urged to always wear seat belts, ensure passengers were strapped in, keep safe distances and follow speed limits. They were also reminded that a driver of a heavy lorry could be deported for driving through a red light.
“My tension is small cars that go too fast and cut in front of us, not realising that in a big lorry my reaction time is slower,” said Vani Kumar, who drives a waste management vehicle.
In Abu Dhabi, the emirate's transport department has introduced a new requirement for road freight operators to make lorries safer, prevent driver fatigue and improve road safety.
Starting yesterday, companies that require a no-objection certificate from the Department of Transport will be asked to submit their transport manager’s details and the number of vehicles in the company’s fleet. This NOC applies to any company that intends to apply for or renew an Abu Dhabi commercial licence.
The new rules will affect more than 3,000 firms and include minimum safety standards, which, according to Ahmed Al Hammadi, acting director of freight transport at the DoT, would improve safety on the roads and raise the professionalism of the freight and logistics sector.
“Good companies are constantly being undercut by some that are not maintaining their vehicles, or making drivers work too many hours. They struggle to follow the safety rules that they know they should follow and still compete with these companies,” said Jonathan James, section head of freight policies at the DoT.
Inspections by the DoT on more than 500 vehicles in 2013 found more than eight out of 10 lorries had one or more defects that would have led to failure at the annual test.
The maximum driving time for lorry drivers in the UAE is 10 hours. However, almost half of the 517 drivers surveyed by the DoT said they worked more.
In February last year, Abu Dhabi's Multi-Modal Freight Master Plan was launched to regulate and set standards for the industry.
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