Samar Yahya
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The two-day third “Tyre Safety and Eco Station (TSES)” road show campaign by Bridgestone was held at the Red Sea Mall here Thursday and Friday.
Bridgestone’s aim is to help lower road traffic accidents in the region through an education and awareness campaign.
The campaign — touring the GCC — focused on helping families and drivers learn and practice tyre safety, such as how to check the proper tyre pressure and tread wear to avoid dangers of driving with under-inflated or over-inflated, worn out or damaged tyres.
It also encouraged attendees to create an eco-friendly society for the current and future generations.
The campaign also included a special zone dedicated to kids where they could draw environmental-themed drawings and enjoy free face painting. In a survey conducted during the Bridgestone Middle East and Africa 2012 TSES roadshow here among 391 drivers, it was found that 61 percent Saudi motorists do not check their tyres.
The results also stated that faulty tyres are the leading cause of accidents, particularly during the summer months, ensuring road safety is the need of the hour.
“The results from the survey that we conducted last year revealed that the level of awareness on the correlation between properly maintained tyres and road safety is still very low.
“The TSES campaign is one of Bridgestone Middle East and Africa’s core Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives developed to educate drivers in the region about tyre safety,” said Shoichi Sakuma, president of Bridgestone Middle East and Africa.
He added: “Some very easy and quick tyre monitoring steps can reduce the chances of an accident occurring while driving.
“Our commitment is to make drivers understand the importance of tyre monitoring, helping them to develop the habit of regularly checking their tyres in order to make roads a safer place for them and their families.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Bridgestone Middle East and Africa representatives, including Deep Rajendran, manager for Corporate Communications and Training at Bridgestone Middle East & Africa; representatives from Al Talayi Company Limited, Bridgestone’s distributor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Suliman A. Al Qassomi, director of sales and marketing, and Almohannad Hafiz, marketing manager.
