More than 120 Bridgestone employees across South Africa have attended the first two parts of a three-part driving improvement course presented by driving skills company driving.co.za. An initial seminar on defensive and economical driving was followed up by a 50-minute practical on-road training session for each trainee, showing how to put the new skills into practice in preparation for the practical test in a few weeks’ time.
“People often comment that their fuel consumption in town driving can be double what it is on freeways,” said Rob Handfield – Jones, MD of driving.co.za. “The reason is that on freeways there are generally fewer speed changes,” he explained.
He said that the trainees have been equipped with skills to help them reduce speed changes and keep a more constant speed in all driving environments. “This is one of the main points of Make Cars Green, and is also the basis of defensive driving: better safety and better economy go hand in hand,” he added.
Romano Daniels, Bridgestone General Manager of Group Communications and Marketing, said the training had been well-received so far. “A number of our trainees have said that they are saving more than one litre per 100km over their usual consumption, and one has already credited the course with saving him from a serious crash,” he said. “Even Makoto Ota, our Marketing and Sales VP, has commented that he is no longer perturbed by taxis and vehicles dashing in ahead of him,” Daniels added.
“The feedback has been shown that greener driving can have important safety benefits as well as reducing transport costs and carbon footprint,” he concluded.
ENDS
For more information on Make Cars Green and the training programme, contact Romano Daniels:
Cell: 082 809 5081
Office: 011 923 7501
E-mail: rdaniels@bridgestone.co.za
or Rob Handfield – Jones:
Cell: 083 260 8663
Office: 087 721 4775
E-mail: rob@driving.co.za
