Every year about 12,000 Egyptians die as a result of a road traffic crash. Shocking as this is, anyone driving on the crowded streets of Cairo will be unsurprised to hear that E
gypt is ranked number five in the world for the highest number of road traffic casualties. To an accompaniment of blaring car horns, the motorist is subjected to weaving motorcycles and taxis, jaywalking pedestrians and even the occasional camel crossing the road. In this special post, our intrepid Fleet Safety Audit Manager, Colin Knight, explores what RoSPA is doing to save lives and reduce injuries on the congested streets of Cairo…
Trailblazing
According to the World Health Organisation’s 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety the number of road fatalities per hundred thousand of population in Egypt is 13.2 (for comparison, in the UK the fatalities per hundred thousand of population is 3.7.)
In Egypt thousands of people also suffer non-fatal injuries, some resulting in long-term disability. Almost half of those killed in motor vehicle crashes are occupants (passengers and drivers) of four-wheeled vehicles, while pedestrians make up an additional one-fifth.
Things may change, however, thanks to a trailblazing project operating in Egypt for the first time.
RoSPA was invited to Cairo by one of the world’s leading training providers, SGS , to deliver a three day training course on implementing ISO 39001 Road Traffic Safety Management Systems to SGS staff and those of Italian Oil Exploration company, ENI, who are a major global operator with a presence in over 70 countries.
ISO 39001 sets out the requirements for road traffic safety management best practice and is applicable to all sizes and types of organisations, ranging from local authorities, schools, transport companies and just about any organisation that interacts with the road. The standard provides guidance to those wishing to improve or design their own road traffic safety framework and introduces a management system for senior managers to make strategic decisions about the prioritisation of road traffic safety.
Global Expertise
RoSPA is one of the few providers across the globe that has the skills, expertise and qualifications to deliver this new ISO standard.
In my role as RoSPA’s Fleet Safety Audit Manager and certified BSI Lead Auditor and Consultant for ISO 39001 I delivered the three day training course, after which I was the keynote speaker at the SGS Road Safety Conference at the Holiday Inn in Cairo. The delegates were made up of representatives from Government clients, Nestle, Eni , The United Gas Derivatives Company, UGDCO, and the Transport Management Centre in Cairo to name just a few.
Subjects covered included ISO 39001 and the current fleet safety initiatives in the UK that RoSPA is involved with, such as working closely with insurance providers and using data to influence and shape manager and driver training interventions, using telemetry and in-vehicle CCTV to understand driver behaviour and implementing a behavioural-based training programme.
A successful partnership
RoSPA, in partnership with SGS, has now successfully launched the new ISO 39001 standard in Egypt. The 11 senior Health and Safety Managers and Senior Executives from Eni who attended the three day workshop are implementing the standard across the company’s Egypt division.
RoSPA is looking forward to returning to Cairo to help other companies achieve the standard which will be an important feature for a sustainable improved road traffic system in Egypt.
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