Fourth Year of Ford’s Driving Skills Starts in Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Ford Vietnam recently kicked-off the fourth year of the highly successful Driving Skills For Life (DSFL) campaign in Vietnam with events at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport and Asia Injury Prevention Foundation joined Ford to officially launch this year’s DSFL campaign in Vietnam.

Vietnam has a very high percentage of first-time car-buyers and drivers on its roads. An exponential growth in vehicles on the road and the relatively low experience levels of many new drivers are contributing to a rapid increase in road traffic accidents and related statistics. According to Vietnam’s National Traffic Safety Committee, there were 13,713 road accidents in 2010 resulting in 11,060 deaths and 10,306 injuries.

Reducing the toll of road traffic accidents across Vietnam is a key objective of DSFL. This year, Ford has further localised the training content in Vietnam to add more valuable tips for beginner drivers, such as driving in flooded and slippery areas, in mountainous areas, and how to handle emergency situations.

At the recent HCMC events, more than 250 licensed drivers participated, including employees from Unilever, Jestar Pacific Airlines, Fujitsu, members of the Saigon Automobile Forum and Women and Cars Club Forum, as well as Ford customers, through a combination of classroom learning and practical drive training.

"Driving Skills for Life is a great programme for us!"

DSFL participant Nguyen Ngoc Hien, a doctor in Ho Chi Minh City, brought his whole family to join the training. Currently owing a car imported from Germany, he was planning to buy a Ford Focus sedan car for his sons after the DSFL training and will encourage them to join the next available training.

In spite of her age, Pham Thi Manh and her husband, Khuong Huu Duc made the medium haul from Ba Ria Vung Tau Province early in the morning to attend training and learn about safe driving techniques that can help improve fuel-efficiency. "This programme is really useful and it's worthy to come all the way here to attend it. I will ask my son to come join tomorrow," said Pham after the completing the session.

New Ford Focus owner and participant, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, found the DSFL training very beneficial and a valuable lesson in self-awareness. "After joining the DSFL training, I realised that my driving skills are not professional. Thanks to the skills I learned from this programme,” said Thanh.

In addition to teaching basic safety skills, key points of this year’s training include methods to drive more economically such as anticipating road conditions, applying fuel-efficient driving techniques, avoiding speeding and how to keep a vehicle properly maintained for optimal fuel efficiency.