At its Transporters Awards ceremony in Accra on July 28, the oil marketing company also honoured five engineering contractors who had equally contributed to the successes of the company over the years.

For the fourth time running, S.O. Frimpong Company Limited emerged the overall best transporter for 2018, while Universal Engineering Limited clinched the Best Engineering Contractor award.

Mr Emil Aklakutse, who works with J.K. Horgle Transport Limited,emerged the overall best driver for 2018 after bagging the Best Driver in Lubricants award.

For their prizes, all the awardees were presented with plaques, certificates of recognition and fridges.

The Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr Ben Hassan Ouattara, explained that the annual ceremony was to celebrate and honour  its transporters who “undertake high risk activities while working safely and professionally.”

He said that for nine years the company’s transporters – S.O. Frimpong, J.K. Ahiadome and J.K. Horgle tranports – travelled a distance of 56 million kilometres without any single accident, hence the recognition.

Describing the milestone as a sterling performance, he said he attributed the achievement to the quality, care and focus showed by its drivers every time they embarked on their respective journeys.

“It is also as a result of the series of training programmes, such as the Driver Training Accreditation Programme that the company continues to organise for its bulk vehicle operators that reinforces good driver behaviour on and off the road,” he said.

Mr Ouattara urged all of its partners not to get complacent by the recognition but sustain their adoption of high safety standards in the execution of their duties to protect lives and contribute to the progress of the company.

Commendation

The Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, applauded Vivo Energy Ghana for paying critical attention to safety standards in its operations and recognising the efforts of its partners in line with its values of promoting safe driving habits.

Reiterating the NRSC’s position that road safety was a shared responsibility, she urged other corporate organisations to emulate same to contribute to reducing the increasing rate of road crashes in the country.

She said existing records, which indicated that 1,252 people had lost their lives between January and June this year, showed that more work needed to be done to change the perennial narrative.

“Road safety casualties remain a public health problem at all levels. While steps are being taken in many countries to improve road safety, much still needs to be done if the rising trend in road traffic deaths is to be halted,” she said.

The Deputy Managing Director of S.O. Frimpong Company Limited, Mr Randy Frimpong, attributed its successes to what he described as the company’s strong management system that promoted high safety standards.