Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, manufacturer and marketer of Caltex branded Lubricants in Sri Lanka, launch a road safety campaign called the Caltex Road Star in association with the Traffic Police in an attempt to reinforce safe driving behavior among motorists.
The campaign was conceptualized by Caltex following the recently submitted interim report of the Parliamentary Committee on the increase in road accidents that found that road accidents in the last decade caused damage of over Rs. 100 billion with more than a million vehicles damaged. Considering the seriousness of the issue with 150 accidents per day with 5-6 fatalities, Caltex decided to launch this road safety programme to promote safe driving practices among motorists.
This campaign will commence in the city of Colombo and will span a period of ten weeks covering the towns of Kaluthara, Galle, Matara, Kandy, Avisawella, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura & Gampaha. During the promotion period, the Caltex Road Star team comprising of judges, officials from the Sri Lanka Motor Traffic Police together with the official media partners for this project will patrol the designated city in the Caltex Road Star vehicle and identify motorists who adhere to consistent use of indicators, wearing of seatbelts, maintaining road discipline and observing traffic rules. Weekly, on the spot selections will be made by the designated panel of judges who will reward the winners with spot certificates and branded Caltex Road Star gift packs.
“The increase in road accidents during recent years is indeed a grave problem in Sri Lanka” says Mr. Kishu Gomes, Managing Director/CEO, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC. “As per reports, the fundamental causes of such incidents are speeding, overtaking at wrong places, running without signals and lack of road manners. We hope that through this programme, corrective measures could be taken to reduce and eliminate such occurrences in the future.” Mr. Gomes also expresses his profound appreciation to the traffic police authorities in Sri Lanka for supporting the organization in this endeavor.
In 2003, stemming from the severe road incident in Polgahawela which involved the collision of a bus and train at a level crossing, Chevron embarked on a road safety project in the area together with the local police to create education and awareness to inculcate positive road safety practices. The project involved a series of road shows and educational programmes for the people of the area. Additionally the organization has been involved with numerous road safety education campaigns conducted by proficient road safety personnel around the country. Although involved in numerous safety projects over the years, the Caltex Road Star Campaign will be the first project of this magnitude organized by Chevron to support the efforts of the Sri Lanka Traffic authorities and instilling good road behavior.