Road Safety

“Shell has had a very good record of social investment over the years in Egypt,” says Tarek El Attar, Chairman of the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport.

“Shell companies also maintain very high HSE standards, especially when it comes to driving and issues of road safety.

Recently Shell worked with the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport on two road safety initiatives which have been most useful.

“The first is the contribution of over 100 road signs to clearly mark the exits on the new Cairo Ring Road with new road signs. These road signs are of the highest quality and use the latest reflective materials to provide motorists with clear indications and warnings, at 300, 200 and 100 metre intervals, of the next exit. This we hope will cut down accidents and lead to better traffic control.

“The second initiative from Shell has been the provision, to the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport, of two driver training vehicles with dual controls to conduct training courses for our staff and for the staff of other organisations.

“Apart from this, Shell has actively participated in Road Safety Week here in Egypt and also sponsored a road safety conference organised by the Automobile and Tourist Club of Egypt,” Tarek concludes.

To meet the demand for drivers at its Cairo office Shell Egypt uses contracted drivers. Before they start work all drivers must undergo basic training to ensure that they meet Shell’s global driving standards.

“I have been working for Shell Egypt since 1999,” says Nagy Shehata Ibrahim, “and I have received a lot of training since my first basic training course, which emphasised the need to observe the speed limits, not talk on the phone when driving and to make sure that both driver and all passengers are wearing seat-belts.”

There are regular refresher courses to make sure that all drivers are up to date with new procedures and practices, as well as specialised courses.

“Shell has operations in remote desert areas and I have been on three training courses to enable me to drive off road. I have also received training on driving in the mountains we encounter when en route from the Obaiyed gas plant to the Badr El Din fields,” he says.

Nagy has also attended first-aid and fire-fighting courses, as well learning how to respond in an emergency – for example, what to do if a vehicle breaks down.

Driving standards in Egypt are poor so there is a lot of importance placed on defensive driving. Recently Nagy and several other drivers underwent a “Hearts and Minds Driving for Excellency’ course as part of Shell’s drive to embed its HSE culture into all staff.

Nagy says, “The course taught us how to stay vigilant and to anticipate the many dangers on the roads of Egypt.” Shell Egypt has introduced IVMS (In Vehicle Monitoring Systems) in all its vehicles. The IVMS records several criteria of the operation of a vehicle, such as speed and braking. It stores the data which can be downloaded and analysed to evaluate the performance of a driver. In November 2007 Nagy was recognised as “Best Driver of the Month’ following analysis of the IVMS in his vehicle.