caltex strengthens safety infrastructure of traffic police for accident prevention in Sri Lanka
Lucky Peiris, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Traffic Administration & Road Safety accepting the donation of computers for accident prevention from Kishu Gomes, Managing Director/CEO, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (22 December 2009) – Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, the marketer of Caltex, Havoline and Delo brand of lubricants in Sri Lanka recently made a donation of high-end HP computers to the Sri Lanka Traffic Police Headquarters. In an attempt to strengthen the current nation-wide traffic operation, the new high-speed computer terminals with related accessories will be used to facilitate the preventative measures and action taken by the Traffic police towards accident prevention.
Run on the ‘MAAP’ software, the computers will assist in the process of integrating, tracking, analyzing and disseminating valuable road accident data from around the country. The analyzed data will include the of loss property, loss of life, government spend on recovery and the cost of insurance for each accident.
By providing the tools required to sustainably strengthen the current traffic police operation, these computers will enable faster data-transfer from all regional traffic units, feeding real-time statistics into the central database located in the Colombo headquarters. The information processed thereafter is regularly circulated to the relevant commissions and authorities such as the RDA, Provincial Councils, Parliamentary committee and Ministries.
“Similar to the ‘Caltex Road Star’ campaign we launched early this year, an initiative to make roads safer for all commuters; this donation comes as a synonymous effort to mitigate the level of fatalities and injuries caused by road accidents. The basis of the ‘Caltex Road Star’ campaign is to spread the message of ‘road safety’ across the different sections of society, rewarding the motorists who emulate safe driving practices” commented Mr. Kishu Gomes, Managing Director & CEO of Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC.
Currently, the governments spend on road-accident related hospitalization and recovery accounts for nearly 2% of the country’s GDP on an annual basis. Road accidents in the last decade caused damage of over Rs.100 billion with more than a million vehicles damaged. On an average a record of 150 accidents take place per day with 5-6 fatalities.
“The government is working towards reducing road deaths and serious injuries by 50% in year 2010. We feel confident that this vision can be achieved by investing in infrastructure development such as this and running public awareness campaigns on road safety such as Caltex Road Star. As such, the critical issues and the intensity of road accidents can be highlighted” continued Mr. Gomes.
The corporate responsibility projects identified and undertaken by Chevron is driven largely by a commitment to socio-economic development, based on research that considers the medical, social, economic, and cultural dynamics shaping the future of Sri Lanka. According to the organization, community partnerships and being socially responsible are fundamental to the broader success of the business as they assist in ways that help stimulate economic growth and enable communities to prosper. Attributing to its latest efforts in promoting road safety across the nation, Chevron supports the local traffic police to protect the commuters in Sri Lanka.