HOYER UK Senior Driver Trainer Chris Hill is working in Africa this month as part of the company’s ongoing support of Transaid.
Chris, who is based from Southampton but works UK-wide with the PETROLOG business unit, is working with trainers who currently deliver HGV training at the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The NIT are long term partners of Transaid and have been since 2010.
Road deaths are the third biggest killer following HIV/AIDS and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa with official statistics from World Health Organisation (WHO) claiming a staggering 24.7 people per 100,000 head of population are losing their lives in road traffic crashes.
There has been a particularly high demand for dangerous goods training since an incident involving a tanker crash and subsequent explosion killed more than 100 people in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Chris Hill will provide dangerous goods training for 15 trainers, including a mix of theory and practical work during his 10 days of training. This is his sixth trip to Africa with previous training delivered in Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.
Chris Hill said: “I have found my five previous trips to work with instructors on HGV training inspiring. I go with the aim of ensuring the team I work with are then able to pass on high-quality training to other drivers to ensure that Transaid is continually increasing the number of qualified drivers on the road.”
On his most recent trip in 2018, Chris said he noticed a significant increase in traffic on Tanzania’s roads since his first trip there in 2014.
“The dense traffic we experienced on the roads also brought to life how many hazards there are and the potentially serious consequences if conditions are not taken into account. Blindspots are an issue for HGV drivers no matter where you are in the world so it’s something I always focus on.”
Florence Bearman, Head of Fundraising for Transaid said: “We are grateful to HOYER for seconding Chris Hill to us over the past nine years. Over this time his training of trainers will have resulted in the training of over 500 HGV drivers and impacted the training of over 2,000 PSV drivers and the impact of his contribution to road safety in these countries cannot be underestimated.”
Allan Davison, Operations Director for HOYER PETROLOG said: “Safety is at the very core of our work and we are committed to achieving the highest standards of safety and continue to invest in equipment and in the training needed to uphold this commitment. Helping Transaid to deliver this same high-quality dangerous goods training in Africa is very much in step with this ethos and we are proud of the superb work that Chris Hill has done in contributing to improving road safety and saving lives.”
