31st National Road Safety Week: DHL SmarTrucking renews its commitment to safety with day-long events for drivers’

Mumbai, 30^th January 2020: As part of its focus on road safety, DHL SmarTrucking commemorated National Road Safety Week with a series of gatherings for its 1867 drivers at its SmartHubs across the country. SmarTruckers discussed topics relating to road safety, revisited key concepts and best practices and reaffirmed their commitment to the company’s Safety First culture which underpins the passion for helping businesses and people grow while also advocating for taking responsibility for shaping the world we live in, and guiding the DHL SmarTrucking family in sustainable business practices.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikash Mohan, CEO, DHL SmarTrucking said, “As part of Deutsche Post DHL Group, we at DHL SmarTrucking work in single-minded pursuit of our shared mission – Excellence. Simply Delivered. Therefore, our strategic imperative is to adopt processes and practices that help us achieve this excellence. Road safety is an important issue for India, and for us as well – it affects both the businesses we serve and the communities around us. And so, in line with the Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Safety First Framework, we are committed to promoting road safety among our SmarTruckers – our nationwide Driver Excellence program, conducted with certified trainers, ensures that they are rigorously trained in safe driving and road etiquette.”

During the road safety observances held across DHL SmartHubs in Bhiwandi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Nagpur, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Ambala and Bilaspur, various DHL SmarTrucking operations and Driver Excellence personnel, trainers from Green Earth, and DHL SmarTruckers congregated to review the essentials of road and traffic police signs and driving best practices. Operations leaders also briefed the SmarTruckers on various other aspects of road safety and distributed safety jackets. Quizzes were conducted to test the SmarTruckers’ learning and prizes distributed to the winners. The personnel also renewed their commitment to road safety by undertaking the Government of India’s Road Safety Pledge to always engage in appropriate and safe driving behaviour.

Road safety is a key priority for India as well as the world. According to a 2018 World Health Organization report, with 1.35 million deaths annually, road traffic injuries are the eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages worldwide[1]. It also indicates that, despite some progress having been made towards attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 to reduce road deaths and injuries by 50 percent by 2020, the change is inadequate and fragmented across the world, making it unlikely for the goal to be met within the stipulated time frame. India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways pegs the country’s share of global traffic fatalities at 13 percent, with 80,000 deaths occurring every year[2]. Consequently, it has become critical for companies and communities alike to promote road safety and good driving practices on priority.

In alignment with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s commitment to safe and sustainable business practices, DHL SmarTrucking adheres to the group’s Occupational Health and Safety Management System Safety First Framework. The framework, which reflects the international standard ISO 45001, presents a roadmap for managing all basic health and safety topics, including road safety, by defining objectives and common standards, as well as specifying requirements to establish, implement, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve its guidance. DHL SmarTrucking’s Safety First culture assigns topmost priority to personnel safety during all activities, taking precedence over short-term gains.