‘Caltex Road Star’ grand finale rewards safe drivers

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, the pre eminent marketer of Caltex branded Lubricants in Sri Lanka, completed the final phase of its national campaign on road safety, as they awarded the ‘Caltex Road Star’ Grand Prize to S. Thusitha Weeramunda from Wattala, at a recent ceremony which took place at the Caltex Head office in Colombo.

Consolation prizes were presented to Prajani Nilanthi Rajakaruna (Gampaha) and R.M. Ranaweera Bandara (Anuradhapura).

‘Caltex Road Star’ is a community-driven project endorsed by the Sri Lanka Motor Traffic Authority, which partnered with the company to help conduct this unprecedented project across major cities such as Colombo, Galle, Matara, Kalutara, Kandy, Embilipitiya, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Gampaha. The campaign locations were selected based on the alarming number of fatal road accidents that occurred in each area.

The campaign was conceptualised by Caltex following an interim report of the Parliamentary Committee on the increase in road accidents. It stated that road accidents in the last decade caused damage of over Rs. 100 billion with more than a million vehicles damaged.

Further, it stated that approximately 150 accidents occurred per day with nearly five to six of the count being fatal. Currently, the Government’s spend on road-accident related hospitalisation and recovery accounts for nearly 2% of the country’s GDP on an annual basis.

Under phase 1 of the programme, nearly 1,000 four-wheel, three-wheel and two-wheel motorists were rewarded with special gift packs, based on their driving competencies and adherence to road rules. Under phase 2, a further number of safe drivers from each location were awarded insurance policies worth Rs. 1,000,000, Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 250,000, based on special evaluation criteria.

In the final phase of the programme, a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 was awarded to the ‘Caltex Road Star Grand Prize Winner’. Further, a special certificate authenticating this achievement issued by the Motor Traffic Authority was presented to the Winner and the two consolation prize winners amongst several other special gift packs courtesy Caltex.

“The success of the campaign is the result of the motorists who are rewarded through the programme emulating responsible driving habits to his/her family, friends and community. This approach we believe can multiply the impact of the campaign to reach thousands of citizens around the country,” Chevron Lubricants Lanka CEO and Managing Director Kishu Gomes.

“Creating an environment of motorists who are conscious about road safety brings protection to a society. I think the responsibility lies with everyone. As such, the campaign was expanded to include a special programme for school children because we find a rising number of road-accident related fatalities occurring from this age group as well,” he added.

The special school programme under the ‘Caltex Road Star’ campaign included a road safety seminar with practical demonstrations conducted by the Motor Traffic Police, on safe commuter practices for children between the ages of 12 and 17.

Although involved in numerous safety projects over the years, the ‘Caltex Road Star’ campaign was the first project of this magnitude organised by Chevron to support the efforts of the Sri Lanka Motor Traffic authorities through a unique awareness and rewards programme.

The corporate responsibility projects indentified and undertaken by Chevron is driven largely by a commitment to socio-economic development, based on research that considers the medical, social, economic, and cultural dynamics shaping the future of Sri Lanka.