MEGAMAS Training Company has said that it will be working closely with the government to improve road safety issues that have resulted in numerous casualties in recent months.
Roger Ainsworth, the general manager of Megamas, said the company has trained about 75 driving instructors from 30 driving schools to ensure that they are equipped with the right skill sets needed to teach Bruneians about road safety.

The company will begin a schedule of auditing the driving school instructors this year using the techniques taught in the extensive five-day defensive driving training delivered by Megamas in the first quarter of 2011.

Megamas is a company that delivers health, safety and environment (HSE) training and consultancy solutions. It delivers over 120 HSE courses, and have delivered 90 per cent of all Brunei Shell Petroleum’s (BSP) HSE training over the last 5 years.

“The thing is, it was a successful programme, but we are going to work together with the Land Transport Department to ensure that the techniques are being applied in the driving instructors teachings,” said Ainsworth.

A strong advocate of road safety, Ainsworth explained that there is not just one factor that has resulted in reckless driving, but that a number of factors and issues, such as the drivers attitudes, enforcement, infrastructure, all combined have resulted in the increase in accidents.

“The government are increasing their road safety awareness campaigns and I applaud them for what they are doing because it isn’t easy,” he said, adding that enforcement on road laws could be improved so that the mindset of drivers change when they are driving.

“I have seen that the number of people who are texting and driving at the same time have increased and everywhere someone is on their phone, and I have seen drivers over take a police car on a restricted 100km/h road, going at about 140km/h, so I think enforcement could be increased,” he said.

Megamas has participated in many government campaigns over the years at various exhibitions and road shows with the Brunei National Road Safety Council. “Together, I believe, that we have made a difference in helping to change people’s attitude,” said Ainsworth.

“Working together with the government, Megamas produced excellent coloured posters on all the Brunei Road Signs, including road markings (in English and Malay), which are very informative,” he said.

Megamas was also been a member of the Brunei Tell-A-Friend (BTAF) campaign, initially working very closely with Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) on improving road safety in Seria and Kuala Belait. BSP is now working with many other partners to improve road safety throughout Brunei.

He added that the Tell-A-Friend campaign did “extremely well”, and that there was a hundred percent commitment from BSP to now be more aware of road safety. “The campaign did so well that it has expanded on a national level and there are more and more people who are now buckling up their safety belts and realising the importance of a safety belt,” he said.

Ainsworth added that with continued efforts together with the public sector, the company realised that it is time to also help the private sector, especially with companies which employ drivers to operate heavy vehicles such as buses, lorries and trucks.

“I don’t want to confirm anything yet, but there are plans in the future to address this and to also have a course for people in their 40s and 50s,” he said.

“In the past few months, the number of fatalities and accidents is really worrying and for a small populated country like Brunei to have seven deaths in just a couple of months is something to think about, so we all have to work together and be aware of improving the driving attitudes of the people.”

The Brunei Times
Debbie Too
Bandar Seri Begawan
Monday, February 27, 2012