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   Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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Road Star | School | TBYD
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AXA boost for RoadStar; Campaign begins Nov. 4
THE annual Caltex RoadStar Contest, the second for the current year,
organized by the Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF) in association
with Dubai Police and RTA, received a huge boost following AXA
Insurance’s decision to associate with the five-day decade-old campaign
which gets underway on November 4.
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The first campaign for the current year was held from March 18-22.
AXA Insurance’s decision to associate itself with the campaign means
that the number of co-sponsors for this worthy cause has expanded
appreciably. Held in association with Dubai Police and the RTA, Caltex
is the main sponsor while Lexus (Al Futtaim Motors) and Bridgestone
(Nasser Bin Abdullatif Alserkal) are the other co-sponsors with Gulf
News, Wheels and Radio2 FM as the media partners
With last-minute preparations underway before the second phase of the
contest takes off on November 4, a meeting was held on October 29 with
Director of Dubai Police’s Traffic Department Brig. Mohammed Saif Al
Zafein to brief him on the campaign. Present at the meeting were EMSF
Director of Marketing and Business Development Roshanara Sait, Asim
Khan (Caltex), Khalid Fayad (Lexus – Al Futtaim Motors) and Marina
Brissart (AXA Insurance).
In its tenth year since its inception and having invested over two
million dirhams thus far in a campaign aimed at promoting safe driving,
the RoadStar team will patrol Dubai’s roads during rush hours in the
morning in an attempt to identify at least 15 safe drivers.
The current campaign, in its 19th edition since its launch in October 1998, will run from November 4 to 8.
Drivers who observe basic principles of good driving such as wearing
seatbelts, using child safety seats, using indicators and hands-free
mobiles, observe lane discipline and display courtesy in addition to
adhering to speed limits will come under the organizers’ scanner during
the campaign.
Besides being rewarded with a cash award of 750 dirhams on the spot,
gifts and a certificate endorsed by Dubai Police, the campaign also
aims to contribute to making a difference to lives of the many winners,
who most often send the reward money back home to support their
families.
Ms Sait who will accompany the RoadStar team during the duration of the
campaign said the aim was not to change driving habits overnight but at
creating public awareness and getting people to talk about safety.
During the first phase of the campaign this year in March, Brigadier
Eisa Aman, Deputy Director of Dubai Police’s Traffic Department, had
said. “The initiative by the EMSF contributes to increasing traffic
awareness among the public and we will support this initiative which
encourages the road users to abide by traffic rules.”
The first RoadStar winner during phase one was Anthony Santos of the
Philippines who said: “I was very terrified when the police asked me to
pull over, but I maintained my composure. It is the first time I got
pulled over by the police, but I was delighted and did not expect this
surprise.”
Another winner, UAE National Ali, said there has been a drastic change
in traffic today compared to when he started driving 13 years ago. He
recalls that then the vehicles were less and roads narrow compared to
many-lane roads today and the huge increase in vehicle numbers.
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THE BMW Driving Skills Challenge organized by the Emirates Motor Sports Federation got underway on the sidelines of the 9th International Motor Show 2008 at Expo Centre Sharjah on November 18.
The debut of the five-day event saw 28 competitors of various nationalities negotiate a BMW through a specially set up track in the car park located next to Gate No. 3 of Expo Centre Sharjah.
Khalil Mohammed Khalil, Alaa Said Rahrough and Yasser Ahmed Mohammed walked off with the first, second and third prize with times of 26.01 seconds, 26.91 seconds and 27.06 seconds respectively.
The winners received a trophy and Certina watch each while all participants received a certificate.
The challenge, sponsored by BMW, tests the driving skills of participants and highlights the importance of abiding by traffic rules and regulations.
The driving skills challenge is being held daily from 5pm to 10pm until November 22, the last day of the automobile show.
Pirelli, Certina and Mobil 1 are the other co-sponsors of the challenge.
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