FTA members donate over £30,000 to Transaid

Tuesday 07 December 2010

Freight Transport Association members have donated more than £30,000 - and are on course to hit £40,000 before the year is out - to support the work of international development charity Transaid during the first year of FTA’s annual membership renewal scheme. This has enabled over 1,000 drivers in Africa to receive professional training, helping to make roads and communities safer.

In sub-Saharan Africa, road deaths are the third biggest premature killer, following HIV/AIDS and malaria. In many parts of Africa, road crashes occur at an alarming rate and high numbers of fatalities result. Many serious crashes involve heavy goods vehicles or public service vehicles, and Transaid is working to create a safer operating environment through the development of commercial vehicle driver training and qualifications.

Through its partnership with two national training institutions in Zambia and Tanzania, Transaid’s Professional Driver Training Project is improving commercial vehicle driver training standards and safety awareness in order to address the shortage of skilled drivers. FTA is also contributing to the project through the provision of expertise in the shape of one of its Vehicle Inspection Services engineers, Graham Pink, who has recently conducted a course on vehicle inspection to help improve day-to-day vehicle safety which was well received in Tanzania.

FTA started the scheme at the end of 2009, giving its members the option to make a donation to Transaid along with their annual FTA membership fees.

FTA Chief Executive Theo de Pencier said:

“We are extremely proud that FTA members have shown such outstanding generosity in raising this fantastic sum in only the first year of the scheme to support the important work that Transaid carries out in developing countries.”

Chris Saunders, Chief Executive of Transaid commented:

“We are delighted to have the support and expertise of FTA behind us and are extremely grateful to all the FTA companies who have contributed to the cause. Around 1.3 million people die in road crashes globally every year, and a large proportion of these happen across the developing world. Thanks to this support, we can increase awareness of this huge problem and begin to tackle the challenges to make roads safer. The fact that we are already expanding the project into Tanzania is testament to this.”

Notes for editors

For further information on Transaid, visit www.transaid.org or contact Chantelle Cummings on 020 7387 8136.
 

FTA Press Office

01892 552255
press.office@fta.co.uk