RTA Rewards Drivers For Minimizing Traffic Accidents, Achieving Better Performance

The Public Transport Agency, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in cooperation with Oman Insurance Company, has recently honoured a host of professional bus drivers (public transport, commercial transport, inter-city service) under the Professional Driver Award launched last year. This semi-annual award includes cash and moral rewards aimed at motivating drivers to perform better, and minimize traffic accidents triggered by buses.

Mohammed Masoud Al Janahi, Director of Drivers Affairs, RTA Public Transport Agency, delivered a speech during the award distribution ceremony saying: “The RTA is continuously seeking to roll over distinguished initiatives to realize its objectives aimed at improving performance and boosting traffic safety. This Award is primarily aimed at minimizing accidents caused by buses by setting targets to reduce red accidents (driver’s fault) to 0.65 per 100,000 km covered, green accidents (third party fault) to 0.95 per 100,000 km covered, and white accidents (against unknown parties) to 0.25 per 100,000 km covered.

“The Professional Driver Award also seeks to minimize public complaints by heeding to their feedbacks & views as regards the performance of bus drivers in order to sort them out in the best possible manner. Moreover, the award is a positive tool that helps achieving higher driver satisfaction rating amongst drivers in terms of reducing the number of absence days and sick leave days taken by drivers,” added Al Janahi.

Commenting on the standards set for selecting professional drivers, Al Janahi said: “The selection criteria in place is based on a number of parameters including: the driver must have completed at least six years in service at Bus Dep’t at Public Transport Agency, the driver’s file must be clear of any traffic accidents or offences, the driver must have been deployed on external routes rather within the station, the driver’s file must be free from quality offences & public complaints, the driver’s file must not contain more than 3 days sick leaves, compassionate leaves, leave of absence, and preference is made to the driver who has contributed more feasible suggestions.”

The Director of Bus Dep’t further added that a wide-ranging campaign had been launched to announce the award through posters published in various languages (Arabic, English, Urdu) in bus stations, and the premises of the RTA and Public Transport Agency as well as drivers’ accommodation quarters in order to familiarize them better with the award, and encourage them to improve their performance while on board. “Awareness workshops have also been held to educate drivers about the process of selecting the professional driver by tasking each stations to conduct this activity,” he noted.

Al Janahi stressed that the Award would be staged regularly in future on a half-yearly basis with cash rewards and moral motivation for professional drivers, thus offering a platform for a positive competition between drivers prompting them to work continuously on keeping their performance on the up.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Apr 1, 2014

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