Road safety drive gains more ground

MANILA,Philippines — The nationwide road safety campaign is gaining more ground and drawing more supporters as organizations highlight key factors for safe travel on the road.

Factors that contribute to enhancing safe journeys have been identified as driver professionalism, vehicle quality or road worthiness, technical innovation, and overall operational excellence. 

Road safety has become so imperative that even the United Nations has declared the present period the Decade for Road Safety.

In the country, the NLEX Corp. has introduced and implemented programs that bring the four road safety factors to public consciousness. 

One of such programs is NLEXcellence Awards, a yearly recognition given to truck and bus operating firms on the categories of hall of fame award, operational excellence award, driver professionalism award, vehicle quality award, and innovation award.

Now on its seventh year, the NLEXcellence has drawn enthusiastic participation by truck and bus operators nationwide. 

NLEX Corp. CEO Rodrigo Franco affirmed the tollway firm’s commitment to road safety by recognizing companies who share the same values that NLEX Corp. advocates through the annual NLEXcellence awards.

“NLEXcellence is surely here to stay, and so is our pledge in forging partnerships, as we inculcate discipline, safety consciousness, and in keeping our roads safe and efficient for everyone,” Franco said in his keynote speech last year.

Last year, 14 companies from the transport and trucking industries were commended for their exemplary performance in promoting road safety at the awarding ceremony of the sixth NLEXcellence Safety Awards.

“This year’s awards will once more present exemplars in bus and trucking operations, vehicle quality, driver professionalism and innovations,” said Grace Ayento, NLEX Corp. assistant vice president for marketing.

“This has become a powerful motivational force for all drivers and transport personnel to achieve first-rate performance on the job at all times,” Ayento said.

The Hall of Fame Award was given to Lebria Transport and Allied Services Corp. for showing quality and consistency in all three cornerstones of road safety.

An ISO- and PEZA-certified company, Lebria conducts monthly refresher trainings and behavioral workshops for its employees, periodic reviews on guidelines, policies, handling of cargos and regular sessions to hear out employee feedback and grievances.

Meanwhile, for their operational policies and programs that ensure the safety of their drivers and their fleet, five companies – RD Policarpio Holding Services, JNB Trucking, Inland Corp., Gapuzan Trucking, and CA Logistics Corp. – bagged the Company Operational Excellence Award.

For exerting extra efforts to ensure their fleet vehicles are roadworthy and always in tip-top condition, Coda Lines Corp., Megacem Inc., RD Policarpio Holding Services, Genesis Transport Service Inc., and Aquair Cargo Movers Inc. brought home the Vehicle Quality Award.

The Driver Professionalism Award, which recognizes companies that ensure they maintain excellent, dedicated and law-abiding drivers so that passengers and cargo are brought safely and on time to their destinations, was given to Santiago Cargo Movers, CA Logistics Corp., Golden Shine International Freight Forwarders Corp., Marby Food Ventures Corp., and JA Global Logistics, Inc.

A new addition to the roster of awards, the Innovation Award, was given to Megacem Inc. for having introduced original procedures, developed highly distinctive systems, and customized processes and programs to ensure and promote road safety practices.

This year’s NLEXcellence Awards night will be held on Nov. 14 at the Okada Manila Hotel.