Dubai: The American multinational automobile manufacturer Ford has continued to provide essential road safety education throughout the Middle East, with sessions held in Jeddah and Dubai under its global Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program.
The carmaker has been providing free training for newly licenced drivers since 2010 as part of its acclaimed road safety awareness initiative, which was created to improve driving standards worldwide and boost safety standards.
DSFL training is conducted with a hands-on curriculum and the innovative programme is available as part of highlighting Ford’s commitment to promoting safety on the road. In the Middle East, Ford conducted DSFL sessions for 259 students at Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and 296 students at the Higher Colleges of Technology Women’s Campus in Dubai, UAE. The students were given training across four modules: Fitting, Distraction, Driving Course, and Impairment.
Mr. Perdro Simoes, Marketing Director, Ford Middle East, stated that, “Now in its 19th year globally, Ford Driving Skills for Life has provided free training to more than 1.5 million newly licensed drivers in over 40 countries – including more than 4,000 students across the Middle East since 2013.”
“In total, Ford has invested more than $50 million in initiatives globally as part of its long-standing commitment to promoting safety on the road. Here in the region and around the world, safety remains a key priority for Ford. DSFL is a campaign that aims to help reduce the number of road accidents while improving drivers’ knowledge of best practices on the road, as well as their confidence,” Mr. Simoes added.
In the UAE, road accidents caused 381 deaths last year and is ranked 118 in the world for road traffic accidents, according to the country’s Ministry of Interior.
Ford’s DSFL training pairs new drivers with professional instructors to focus on five primary driving skills that can help avoid accidents, hazard recognition, vehicle handling, speed management and space management, as well as distracted and impaired driving.
“While there have been improvements in road safety across this region, there remains a long way to go. We will continue doing our part to spread the lessons of DSFL across the Middle East,” the Marketing Director concluded.