As part of the initiative, ARN, the UAE's leading radio station group, aired an original track composed by Bridgestone during the week, that encouraged motorists to make safer decisions by highlighting the futility of taking shortcuts on highways. The song was broadcasted as the opening commercial on all ARN stations.

Jacques Fourie, Vice President and Managing Director of Bridgestone Middle East and Africa said: “At Bridgestone, we consider it our responsibility to promote safe mobility habits from the ground up and contribute to shaping a safer society. This initiative, which supports the Bridgestone E8 Commitment value of ‘Ease: Committed to bringing comfort and peace of mind to mobility life,’ promised to improve road safety standards and promote community wellbeing. Moreover, the UN Global Road Safety Week initiative allowed us to stand united reduce accidents and create a safer environment. As a team, we are confident that we can make a positive impact on communities and promote their overall safety.”

With the latest initiative, Bridgestone asserted that lane changes are one of the major factors for accidents on the UAE’s highways and emphasised the importance of maintaining road safety for reliable mobility systems. The company will continue promoting community-driven initiatives that foster safe mobility, while still providing quality solutions to its customers.

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Khalid Qureshi, Communications & Trade Marketing Lead Bridgestone, was part of the high-profile panellists who discussed road safety management and best practices. Bridgestone is one of the active members of the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network.

During the session titled ‘Road safety best practices,’ Qureshi shared with the participants Bridgestone’s highly successful ‘Eyes on the Road’ and 'Eyes on the Road' Ramadan initiative that focuses on the wellbeing of UAE truck drivers. 

He also spoke about Bridgestone’s sustainable and efficient fleet management and mobility solutions whilst promoting his organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in the local business community.

He was joined by Dr. David Marsh, Project Director, Sheida International Co. LLC, Sultanate of Oman; Roshan Menon, Quality Assurance, Safety and Project Manager Emirates Group; M.S. Sridhar, Group HSEQ & Sustainability Manager, Tristar Group, and the session was moderated by Syed Atif Ali, Program Manager CSR, Dubai Chamber of Commerce.  

More than 60 participants from various companies in the region attended the online session. The task force’s member companies, industry experts, and technology providers tackled during the event a host of topics affecting road safety. These included vehicle safety features, journey management techniques, fatigue management, maintenance and repairs, driver wellbeing, and driving behaviour.

Stefano Sanchini, Regional Managing Director, Bridgestone Middle East and Africa, said: “We, at Bridgestone, are dedicated to the safety of roads not only through our high-quality products and innovative solutions but also by educating drivers. Our discussions are geared toward promoting relevant initiatives, best practices, and challenges facing our efforts today. Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network provides us with a platform for sharing expertise that would help accelerate our joint endeavours to prevent accidents and road traffic injuries. It facilitates collaboration between the most brilliant minds in the business.”

Bridgestone’s ‘Eyes on the Road’ campaign, which offers free health screenings to truck drivers, forms part of its CSR progamme promoting the safety of everyone whilst on the road. It emphasises the need to look after the health of truck drivers who spend long hours on the road delivering goods and commodities.

Qureshi said: “Safety is a value that is reflected in the quality of our products. That is why our CSR campaign is very important to us. We appreciate the hard work and long hours that truck drivers dedicate to delivering goods and commodities, and we demonstrate this through our ‘Eyes on the Road’ campaign. A potentially life-saving health check campaign, the campaign aims to improve fitness and road safety and reflects our responsibility to keep them and everyone around them safe on the roads.”

Bridgestone, which seeks to become a major player in the global mobility ecosystem, transforms its passion for safety and comfort by setting new standards of technological advancement, offering high-quality products, and raising road safety awareness in the region and worldwide.