Ford’s Driving Skills For Life Campaign Equips Drivers With Training To Stay Safe

The Ford Motor Company and its ongoing global campaign ‘Driving Skills For Life’ (DSFL) has branched to Malaysia through a newly-initiated series of workshops aimed to raise awareness of safe driving practices, kicking off with a session at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus. 

The free workshop was designed to encourage drivers to always be aware of the safest driving techniques and to equip them with the knowledge to evade a dangerous and unexpected situation on the road.

The World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety pegged Malaysia per capita road fatality rate as being one of the highest in ASEAN, while information from The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS) show that an average of 18 people are killed on this country’s roads a day, a dire figure that is expected to rise by 2020 to 29 people per day.

“Driving Skills for Life is designed to equip people with the skills they need to be better, safer drivers. Road safety is a very serious issue, and we feel it is our responsibility to help reinforce this message among Malaysian motorists, especially young drivers,” said David Westerman, managing director, Asia Pacific Emerging Markets, Ford Motor Company.

The DSFL programme, which is Ford’s flagship global corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, has in Asia reached its eight successful year of training drivers of all ages. Currently, the programme has reached motorists over 32 countries and by the end of 2015 is projected to have trained more than 150,000 individuals.

“The whole experience was fun, especially getting behind the wheel to practice. Most of us think we know all about driving skills, but in reality we all have a lot to learn. If I ever need to avoid an accident, I feel much more confident now that I have the skills to be able to,” said Jaclyn Hwang, one of the participants and a student of Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus.

By educating and equipping drivers with the necessary practical skills needed to be at their safest on the road, it would slowly but surely reduce the number of fatalities and injuries. The programme comprises of a classroom theory session followed by a hands-on driving session.

“As a global company with an established presence in Malaysia, we are committed in our efforts to instil road safety awareness amongst drivers to help reduce the number of road fatalities, making the roads safer for drivers, motorists and pedestrians,” added Westerman.