AS part of its ongoing efforts to improve employee safety and promote road safety, Red Stripe partnered with Grennell’s Driving School to offer the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Defensive Driving course to team members across departments.

“The idea of responsible living goes beyond drinking, it extends to every part of life. Red Stripe wants to ensure that all our team members have the knowledge and required techniques to manoeuvre the streets safely, regardless of their role in the organisation,” said Dianne Ashton-Smith, head of corporate affairs at the company.

“Ensuring our team is safe starts by creating a strong culture of safety. With these fundamental defensive driving skills, our staff can make better decisions in real-life situations to protect themselves and their loved ones on the road,” added Ashton-Smith.

The NSC Defensive Driving course exposes participants to best practice techniques, including collision prevention through hazard recognition and the proper application of collision avoidance techniques. The course also addresses common driving violations that result in crashes and the steps necessary to correct these practices to employ good safety road habits on the nation’s roads.

Instruction for the course was provided by Grennell’s Driving School director and trainer, Seth Grennell who endorsed Red Stripe’s initiative.

“It was a pleasure to be a part of this initiative and contribute to the development of its staff members. Everyone who drives, whether personally or for their job, wants to reach work safely and arrive home safely.

“You are never too old or experienced to learn these techniques to help you become a safer driver on our roads. It also reduces the likelihood of having a staff member involved in crashes that can even lead to fatalities or a negative reputation for a company. A safer road environment reduces lives lost on our roads. Red Stripe is playing its part; let’s hope more companies follow suit,” said Grennell.

Red Stripe Brewing Manager Miguel Sanchez was delighted to participate in the training programme, sharing that the experience taught him valuable lessons he would carry with him for a lifetime.

“The NSC training is mandatory for employees who drive the company’s vehicles, but it was incredible for it to be opened up to other staff members so we could fine-tune our skills. Red Stripe demonstrates its care for employees by extending safety awareness further than the brewery gates,” said Sanchez.

“Although I have been driving for almost two decades, the training highlighted areas I was never exposed to until now. It shows that you can never be too old to learn something new,” added Sanchez.

The internal NSC training programme is just one of Red Stripe’s initiatives undertaken this year to promote road safety.

In November the company hosted the ‘Responsibility Now’ town hall on responsible alcohol consumption and road safety, featuring public and private stakeholders. Red Stripe has also expanded its ‘Get Home Responsibly’ initiative by partnering with rideshare companies Travelr Taxi, Quick Cart Rides and Voy to offer special promotions and discounted or free rides for event-goers.

Up to Tuesday Jamaica had recorded 470 road fatalities for this year.