PDO’s Tell a Friend campaign boosting road safety awareness among kids

SALALAH: The nationwide “Tell a Friend” road safety campaign fronted by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has been once again featured at the Salalah Tourism Festival, as part of the ongoing drive to educate people across the Sultanate on the importance of road safety. This year the theme was focused on road safety for children.

PDO partners with the Royal Oman Police and Shell Oman Marketing to manage a stand along with the Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA), OLNG and ORPIC.

The campaign was held at the Salalah Gardens Shopping Mall. Campaign volunteers distributed free child car seats and other gifts, held live discussions with the visitors, addressed their questions, and offered information relating to children and road safety.

Visitors had the opportunity to try a seat-belt convincer, which simulates the impact of a car crash at just 7 km per hour. The “kid’s corner” helped children to learn about the importance of road safety in a fun and engaging way.

PDO’s Tell a Friend Campaign Co-ordinator Said al Harthi said, “This is the fifth consecutive year that we have appeared at the Salalah Khareef Festival, an event which provides us with a great platform to spread the message about safe driving and this year our focus is on keeping our children safe on the roads. It is crucial to educate both parents and young people on how vital it is for children to be seated correctly and safely in vehicles and according to the appropriate age group.”

PDO also launched a competition on Social Media, targeting school bus safety. Details can be found on Twitter handles @pdo_om and @ tesma3mini.

The “Tell a Friend” campaign was officially launched by PDO in Muscat in January 2013 with the aim of lowering the number of road accidents in the Sultanate.

It targets important areas of road safety such as responsible driving, speed management, vehicle maintenance, and correct seat belt usage as well as driver fatigue. The campaign has used a multi-media approach, including television, cinema, radio, newspapers, Facebook and Twitter to get its message across to all generations.

The campaign’s roadshow has travelled widely across the country in recent years, visiting many towns including Ibri, Nizwa, Khasab, Shaleem and Al Jazir.