Saying that driving can be stressful in Manila is an understatement, no thanks to drivers who defy authority, and those that are clearly ignorant of the rules, regulations, and the basic courtesy that’s needed for driving to be enjoyable and safe for everyone. Enter Ford Philippines’ Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program. The Driving Skills For Life program is expanding its presence and reaching close to 3,000 private and public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers nationwide.
For the first time since its launch in 2008, Ford Philippines conducted its DSFL program in key cities around the country such as Pampanga, Batangas, Cebu, Davao, and several educational institutions in Metro Manila. Ford, together with long-time program facilitator Tuason Racing School (TRS), also increased the number of hands-on driving sessions to ensure that participants are able to apply their learnings from the classroom sessions.
Ford also partnered with Uber to kick off this year’s DSFL, with over 700 Uber drivers participating in the sessions. It also became a platform to showcase the shared commitment of Ford and Uber on road safety and driver discipline for the benefit of the commuting public.
“2017 has been a great year for our DSFL program and we are happy to bring it outside Metro Manila to educate and train more drivers on the proper driving skills while on the road. Seeing the growing number of participating drivers and partner-institutions inspires us to make the DSFL program more inclusive for our road safety advocacy,” said EJ Francisco, AVP for communications, Ford Philippines.
Focused on helping eliminate road accidents, road altercations, and traffic congestion, DSFL addresses the root cause of these road issues by educating drivers on basic road courtesy and traffic signs and regulations. In an effort to increase DSFL’s relevance to today’s driving environment, the program tightened its focus on training more public utility vehicle drivers (PUV) covering the likes of bus, jeepney, school bus, and taxi drivers to be more safe and responsible drivers.
Training is conducted in both hands-on driving and classroom sessions at no cost to all participants. In partnership with TRS, the training addresses both the inexperience factor as well as issues surrounding distracted driving, fuel economy, and green driving, and other relevant issues to safe driving.
The program has trained more than a total of 20,000 Filipinos since 2008, and these include Ford customers, PUV drivers, traffic enforcers, and student drivers.
Hats off to Ford Philippines for being a social catalyst in nation building for a better driving future where everyone is finally able to drive safely and enjoyably in the metro. While many of us continue to complain about how the traffic affects us badly, Ford strives to help in solving the root cause of the horrendous traffic Manila experiences.
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