Arval stage hard hitting mock car crash to improve road safety

Arval stage hard hitting mock car crash to improve road safety

[UKPRwire, Thu Oct 30 2008] Last year, at their Swindon head office, Arval ran a hard hitting mock crash event which promoted the importance of road safety. The event was captured on film and a resulting video was produced. Royal Mail are so impressed with the impression created by the video that they will be using it to support their own safety training with 190,000 of their employees.

Arval’s mock crash event saw the reconstruction of a car and cyclist colliding at 35mph demonstrating the serious consequences of poor driving. A crash on this scale is something that few people ever think will happen to them, but according to Department for Transport statistics, every week around 200 road deaths and serious injuries involve someone at work. What’s more, mile-for-mile, company car drivers have crash rates 30-50% higher than for comparable private drivers.

Over 250 Arval staff, around 50 customers and children from local schools watched the mock crash live. Staff and 2,000 customers then received a DVD of the event to encourage safe driving. It is also available through the Arval website and has been watched and played by many road safety professionals around the country.

Melvyn Hodgetts, head of safety for Royal Mail Assets said,

"I saw a short clip of the Arval ‘Drive 4 Life’ DVD at the BRAKE awards ceremony. The next day I played the full version and was immediately impressed not only by how many people are involved at the crash scene but also the powerful message it gives about the consequences of a road traffic collision. I have seen many road safety training films before but this one had a longer lasting effect.”

He added,

“I am working on the development of short work time sessions on driving safely. All of Royal Mails’ 190,000 employees receive a session like this once a week. The safety session focuses on giving the driver a conscious choice to change their driving behaviour. The Arval DVD suits this perfectly so I am delighted that Arval has agreed to its use and I am confident it will have as much impact on our employees as it did on me.”

Jean-Marc Torre, Arval’s chief executive, explains,

“Arval is committed to road safety and we want to encourage all drivers to take safety seriously when they’re driving. I believe education and awareness is a key factor to help improve road safety. Our crash event was about demonstrating the serious consequences of driver error and to create a lasting impression in people’s minds,”

About Arval
Part of BNP Paribas, Arval (http://online.arval.co.uk/) is the leading fleet and fuel management company in the UK with over 30 years of experience in the industry. We manage over 145,000 vehicles and have over 1.2 million drivers using our fuel cards. We provide services to both small business and large corporations including internationally managed contracts.

Graham Nichols
PR Manager
ARVAL UK Ltd
ARVAL Centre
Windmill Hill
Swindon
SN5 6PE
Tel: 01793 884453
Email: graham.nichols@arval.co.uk