Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE FIA backed Defensive Driving Project 2020 officially climaxed yesterday after successfully training 985 drivers on safety driving skills.
Funded by the World Motorsports governing body (FIA) and jointly executed by the Automobile Association of Tanzania (AAT) and officials from Traffic Police Department, the project is among several non-motorsports projects implemented in Tanzania under the backing of FIA.
Speaking during the presentation ceremony to award drivers and stakeholders of the project at Shaaban Robert School in Dar es Salaam, the CEO of AAT, Yusuf Ghor said drivers of transport vehicles, ambulances, school buses attended the training.
Explaining on the project, Ghor said defensive driving project does not just concentrate on driver’s own actions, but anticipates the likely actions of other road users.
He said the training offered to the drivers will reduce the likelihood of a collision or incident and can even save costs related to vehicle maintenance and fuel consumption, by driving smoothly and steadily.
The event was graced by Dar es Salaam Zonal Traffic Officer, Nuru Selemani, who told drivers to use the training to save lives and insisted; “Awareness is key to defensive driving, ensuring you are aware of potential hazards and other road users’ actions around you, enabling you to take pro-active action to avoid an incident”.
Adding, he said many accidents can be avoided, and went on to say there are various defensive driving courses available, however, for many drivers, the key habits of this driving style can be learnt just by acting more pro-actively and maintaining focus at all times, keeping yourself aware and able to pre-empt any hazards.
FIA, The Federation of International Automobile, is an association mostly known as the governing body for many auto racing events, such as the Formula One, Safari Rally and MotoGP. The FIA also promotes road safety around the world.
