Despite the pandemic, Shell, in partnership with India Vision Institute (IVI), continued the DriveSafeIndia programme in line with government regulations and safety protocols. Launched in February 2019, Shell has screened more than 2.6 lakh drivers and addressed vision issues of some 1.75 lakh by providing them free pairs of spectacles. The program was awarded the coveted Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its outstanding contribution to Road Safety in 2019.
This year’s DriveSafeIndia program was launched in Chennai ahead of World Sight Day and aims to cover an additional one lakh drivers. About 50,000 drivers will be tested in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the rest in other States.
Sanjay Varkey, Director, Mobility, Shell India, says, “At Shell, we believe road safety is imperative for all and the #DriveSafeIndia program is a step forward in the right direction. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are among the top three States with highest road accident. We are therefore expanding our program in these regions to reach even more drivers with the intention to improve driving performance and potentially preventing accidents.”
“IVI has experience of vision screening school children and adults, including commercial vehicle drivers and truckers. The collaboration and synergy between the two organizations should help drive a strong program to address the vision problems of the trucking community,” said IVI’s CEO Vinod Daniel.
IVI is working in 22 States across India to vision screen school children and adults, including drivers and allied transport workers.
