Charge nurse Samar S. Toubasi shows Traffic Safety Tent visitors some of the important things to look for when purchasing child safety seats. The seats come in various sizes for children of different ages, and using the wrong size may not provide a youngster with the needed safety. (Photo: Stephen L. Brundage) DHAHRAN, March 17, 2010 -- The statistics are appalling. Saudi streets have among the highest fatality rates on Earth. For Saudi Aramco employees, it is ironic that men working offshore or high up on drilling rigs or in processing facilities are more likely to be injured going to or from work than at work.
Those facts have prompted the company in recent years to aggressively seek improvements in highway safety across the Kingdom starting with the Eastern Province and last year launched Saudi Aramco most ambitious initiative in decades.
Through the Traffic Safety Signature Program (TSSP), senior vice president of Industrial Relations Abdulaziz F. Al-Khayyal is championing the cause of improving traffic safety, and he appointed a full-time dedicated team to spearhead the effort.
What we want all of you to do is become advocates for traffic safety TSSP manager Emad Dughaither told an audience attending a GCC Traffic Safety Week event in Dhahran. We want everyone to spread the word about traffic safety to family and friends.
Some of the more discouraging statistics reported were that the Eastern Province has the second-highest motor vehicle fatality rates in the Kingdom, that only two out of every 10 motorists use their seat belts or make their families wear the life-saving restraints, and that one in three hospital beds across the country is occupied by victims of traffic crashes.
Engineer Abdullah S. Hassan of Transportation, right, shows an exhibit visitor what to look for when evaluating tires. Proper inflation and regular tire inspections can prevent serious accidents especially for motorists traveling at freeway speeds. (Photo: Stephen L. Brundage) Dughaither noted the company long history of support to the Kingdom on highway matters, but he says this is one of the most orchestrated attempts to make a difference the company has undertaken to date.
Were looking at the Four E of traffic safety he said. They are engineering, education, enforcement and dealing with emergencies.
In the engineering area, Dughaither said the company has redoubled its efforts with the Ministry of Transportation to raise the bar on better and safer design for roads and highways, and Saudi Aramco has conducted several traffic-flow and engineering studies on highways.
The important role of education the second E — also is a task Saudi Aramco takes on with vigor.
Tens of thousands of youngsters and adults have tried their hand at the company's traveling hands-on driving simulators, and Saudi Aramco is responsible for creating the first comprehensive driver-training manual in the Middle East, which is now being used in Saudi public schools.
Education is the part of the Saudi Aramco program in which everyone can get involved by talking about traffic safety.
Traffic Safety Signature Program manager Emad M. Dughaither asks for a show of hands during a presentation at the Traffic Safety Tent next to the Core Area in Dhahran. He told audience members that only two out of 10 Saudi drivers regularly use seat belts. (Photo: Stephen L. Brundage) The third E stands for enforcement, and both Traffic Police and Saudi Aramco Industrial Security employees are cracking down on speeders and reckless drivers.
The final E stands for emergency care, and Saudi Aramco has been teaching first responders across the Eastern Province in the latest techniques of accident triage and life support for those critical minutes between the crash scene and the hospital.
Saudi Aramco facilities across the Kingdom are holding exhibitions and events to mark GCC Traffic Week. Employees from Saudi Aramco Medical Services, Transportation, Loss Prevention, Training and Development, Industrial Security and Personnel are staffing information booths, giving presentations and underscoring the importance of traffic safety for everyone.
The campaign also took place in al-Hasa, where attendees learned about proper car seats. (Photo: Abdulaziz M. Al-Moaiweed)Beyond the exhibitions, employee teams are visiting parking areas both in company facilities and nearby cities conducting vehicle tire inspections and leaving notes of warning when they encounter a vehicle that may have poor tires. Industrial Security officers also are passing out pamphlets about Saudi Aramco community traffic regulations to visitors and residents as they pass through camp gates.
The biggest question that remains is how do you change behavior? Dughaither asked. Our biggest challenge yet is how to get people to take the initiative to get involved how do we make those we care for realize that it is not somebody else problem, but that it is your problem and my problem and our problem?