Seminar organized by Shell Pakistan and NH&MP highlights road safety concerns in Pakistan

LAHORE, August 31, 2013: Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) along with transport hauliers and the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) marked International Road Safety Day with a seminar to highlight road safety concerns in Pakistan. Recommendations made during the seminar will help devise more effective policies to prevent road accidents in Pakistan.

SPL and NH&MP have been working together in the road safety field since 2010 to design curriculum, which caters to issues drivers face on Pakistani roads. These training sessions have been extended to over 1500 drivers each year, many of whom transport cargos, like fuel, across the country. SPL Hauliers have extensive transportation and logistics businesses and have hundreds of drivers who travel thousands of kilometers every day.

At the event, Zulfiqar Cheema, Inspector General NH&MP said:, “Thousands of lives are lost every year on our roads and highways, in what we believe are mostly preventable accidents. By raising awareness of road safety rules to discipline today’s drivers, I believe that together with partners like Shell, we can improve road safety in our country.”

Every year, globally 1.3 million people die in road accidents; in Pakistan this figure is over 9500. The seminar also focused on long haul drivers who travel on Pakistan’s highways are particularly vulnerable to accidents due speed and the challenging terrain they often encounter.

“Not only is road safety a major focus for Shell’s transportation business, it is also an area we believe we can contribute towards raising awareness in various communities including drivers, policy-makers and even school-going children,” said Afshan Khan, Social Investment Manager at Shell Pakistan.

The event was part of ongoing activities that SPL, NH&MP and other transportation companies (working for Shell) have undertaken to provide training opportunities for drivers and help improve road safety related curriculum. By doing so, these partners aim to reduce the number of road accidents subsequently preventing loss of life and damage to public and private property.

Note to Editors:

Shell Pakistan Limited: SPL was one of the first multi-national companies to partner with NH&MP, to continue to improve road safety and reduce the loss of life in the transportation industry. SPL’s collaboration with NH&MP began in 2010 to initiate intensive trainings for drivers.

National Highway and Motorway Police: National Highway and Motorway Police (NH&MP) Pakistan is responsible for enforcing traffic rules and regulations on highways and motorways of Pakistan. Since its inception in 1997, NH&MP has emerged as the most structured and efficient road policing body in Pakistan and also carries a coveted corruption-free stamp from Amnesty International.

For queries, please contact:

Natasha Qamar, Shell Pakistan Limited natasha.qamar@shell.com, 0302-822-8946