In promoting and spreading road safety awareness, Pilipinas Shell’s “BiyaHero” campaign has partnered with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), the Automotive Association of the Philippines (AAP), and the Philippine Global Road Safety Partnership (PGRSP) to advocate for more cooperation between the private and public sectors in making the nation’s roads safer for Filipinos.

The campaign, which promotes road safety as a shared responsibility between everyone on the road, highlight Shell’s initiatives in engaging both NGOs and local governments for road safety improvements.

Short for “Be a Hero on the Road,” Biyahero is currently working with the AAP-PGRSP to introduce safer driving practices in Lipa, Batangas. Shell and the AAP-PGRSP have been partnered since 2008. Mandaluyong also serves as the campaign’s pilot city for all of Shell’s road safety efforts. The company plans to involve other cities in the multisectoral efforts to realize better nationwide road safety.

Oliver Ortega, Shell Companies in the Philippines’ General Manager for Health, Safety, Security and Environment, said, “We at Shell believe the first step to achieving road safety is to be aware of responsible driving practices. Road safety starts with all of us, and being aware, alert, and prepared can help save lives.”

Meanwhile, ECCP hopes that the conference sparks discussion among safety and logistics stakeholders about how they could contribute to mainstreaming safety by exchanging ideas, initiatives, technology, and best practices.

According to the data of Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis (MMARAS), there are total of 116,906 total accidents registered in 2018, an increase of approximately 6000 incidents compared to the prior year.

“Some, if not most, of our kababayanshave this mentality that ‘if I can get away with it, I’ll do it.’ They violate traffic laws because they don’t see enforcers around,” said Cynthia Reyes from AAP-PGRSP.

BiyaHero is taking a more holistic approach to solving the problem by promoting a new kind of safety culture in the Philippines. Through this event, BiyaHero will bring all relevant communities together to envision safer roads throughout the country.

In addition to training its own truck drivers on how to be safe and responsible on the road, Shell has also partnered with A1 Driving School to teach customers defensive driving.

BiyaHero features various safe driving tips that every driver can use daily to stay responsible, such as the different ways to properly maintain a vehicle as well as what a driver can do to minimize discomfort when in transit.

“Shell believes that through ‘BiyaHero,’ everyone can come together to share the responsibility of making every road in the Philippines safer,” said Ortega.