Shell Encourages India To Drive Safe

Mishaps and fatalities on roads are unfortunately frequent occurrences in India. With about 151,000 on-road deaths reported each year across the country, boosting awareness on not only vehicle upkeep, but more importantly driver welfare, is an urgent imperative. In fact, based on Vision Spring and Shell India’s #DriveSafeIndia Program assessment conducted between March – September 2019, it was discovered that approximately 70% truck drivers interviewed were suffering from some vision problem. Combine this information with a study conducted by Vision Impact Institute that states drivers in India with at least one visual disability have an 81% crash involvement rate, and the data will leave you rather uneasy. It was in this challenge that Shell saw an opportunity. 

The global Energy giant, Shell, in India has long-supported community programs with a constructive, lasting impact and has spearheaded initiatives with the industry and government for the welfare of communities. These initiatives have helped set safety standards and promote the well-being of its partners and customers. With an aim to enable organized performance improvement, keeping health and safety in mind, the company is spearheading various road safety initiatives for drivers and school children in several locations across the country. 

Since the beginning of the #DriveSafeIndia Program in February 2019, Shell along with it’s implementation partner VisionSpring (a social enterprise working towards access to affordable and durable eye care for all) have set up free eye-testing centres across 19  and till date, 2.32 lakh (2,32,000) commercial drivers and transport staff have had their eyes tested and received close to 1.5 lakh (1,49, 529) pairs of free prescription spectacles. 

Shell also conducts several other initiatives to support responsible on-road behavior such as awareness sessions in Bengaluru schools - aimed at making millennials understand the importance of safe driving practices and inculcate the importance of traffic rules. In the past two years, Shell has also sold more than 45,000 helmets from its retail forecourts at over 200 Shell sites across 38 cities in India. 

Shell India inaugurated the first edition of the programme in 2019, in partnership with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India. #DriveSafeIndia (Facebook and  Twitter), a behaviour change programme to drive home the importance of safe driving practices, reached 19 million people to educate them on safe driving behaviors. The program saw a high level of online engagement with more than 28 million impressions including 11 million impressions on Facebook and 16 million impressions on Instagram.

Nitin Prasad, Chairman, Shell companies in India said “Getting road safety right is one of our topmost priorities and we are confident that our efforts in this direction will be fruitful for all. During these challenging times, truck drivers in particular were the road warriors, both for Shell and all other industries, who allowed us to keep functioning from our home. Keeping them healthy and safe, keeps our economy healthy and safe. The ability to see clearly is the most basic and most essential of their needs and it is our sincere endeavor to keep investing our energies in this cause and continue to play a part in keeping Indian roads safe.” 

Their #DriveSafeIndia program stems from its longstanding commitment toward maintaining best practices on road by working with communities and partners to improve safety habits across geographies. The energy company aspires to influence 3 lakh + Indians by 2021 with its free check-up camps for the trucker community, millennial centric programmes and ensuring safer roads around its offices. 

Shell India has also been successful in managing road safety within its business operations. Their contracted fleet clocks around 20-30 million km every year, which equals nearly 36 trips to the moon and back each year and have delivered operations with zero recorded fatality in the last 10 years.