BP holds its Regional International Driving Championship in Dubai
Dubai: BP, the leading oil and gas multinational demonstrated its continued commitment to employee training and road safety last week holding its Regional International Driving Championship (IDC) for employees and contractors of the BP Group at the Autodrome, Dubai. The event, took place over two days, the 8th and 9th May 2007, is part of a BP global initiative which recognises and rewards BP's professional drivers, motivating its workforce to achieve even higher levels of driving safety performance.
The IDC and associated events build awareness and understanding of safe driving techniques and behaviours which BP professional drivers adopt in their driving related activities. It is an opportunity for drivers, other participants, line leadership and functional specialists to better understand the challenges being faced on the roads and work together to shape future driving needs.
The awareness and recognition gained from being involved in the IDC recognises the contribution BP drivers make, not only to BP operations but to the community at large, working to minimise the risk of accidents on the road. This prestigious event, held once every two years, is eagerly anticipated and acknowledged as being a leading global safety initiative.
AbdulKarim Al Mazmi, BP President Middle East, said "The BP International Driving Championship is a unique opportunity for our professional drivers to come together to share best practices and experience on Safe Driving whilst at the same time being recognised for their skills and contribution to road safety. Motivating, training and setting the highest standards are values BP applies to all its employees and we are delighted that Dubai is hosting the Regional heat for the IDC where these fundamentals are applied to a very important category of employees: our professional drivers."
BP established the IDC in 1992 running it as a global event since 2003. The Regional heat has three categories:
- Heavy Vehicle Articulated
- Heavy Vehicle Rigid
- Light Vehicle - less than 3.5 tonnes
Regional competitions are held in Asia Pacific, Europe, Western Hemisphere and Africa, Middle East, Russia & Caspian and participation is open to all professional drivers who are part of the BP workforce, providing they comply with strict criteria such as driving more that 16,000 kilometres per year on business with driving as a core competency of their job, with a valid licence, free from endorsements for at least 24 months immediately prior to the competition date and an accident free record for a period of at least 12 months prior to the competition date.
The competition is judged against fixed criteria by BP employees trained for the task. BP shares its knowledge with the wider communities in which it operates around the world and guests who have been invited to watch the Dubai event include BP customers and government agencies such as the Dubai RTA.
-Ends-
Note to editors:
BP is one of the world's largest companies with nearly 100,000 employees and operations in more than 100 countries on six continents. The company's main activities are oil & gas exploration and production, refining, marketing and supply & transportation.
The company's regional exploration and production operations are headquartered in Abu Dhabi, with a wide-ranging portfolio of activities across the region. Dubai is the regional hub for BP's refining and marketing businesses. The Dubai-based businesses include Air BP, BP Middle East Lubricants, BP Marine and Integrated Supply & Trading.
For further information please contact:
Dana Al Marashi,
Communications & External Affairs Manager,
Dubai: +971 4 331 7999
Vicki Morley,
Senior Account Manager,
GolinHarris,
Dubai: +971 50 455 7149
© Press Release 2007
