On Wednesday, December 8, Frédéric Gardès, Chairman and CEO of Colas, signed the "Seven Commitments for a Safer Road" with Marie Gautier-Melleray, France’s Interministerial Delegate for Road Safety. Over the last 24 years, Colas has been acting in partnership with public authorities to improve road safety, and will continue to play a strong role in the future with the new agreement. 

The partnership aims to continue focusing on road risk prevention initiatives and improve their impact. Since the first charter was signed with France’s Interministerial Delegation for Road Safety in 1997, the frequency rate for work-related traffic accidents for the Colas Group’s 30,000 employees in France has fallen by more than 75%. 

The improvement is the result of the Group's efforts to raise awareness and educate its employees as to the importance of safe, responsible driving, based on self-control and respect for others. 

More than 400 specially trained "Road Safety Relay" employees in the field are implementing the prevention program as defined by the Road Safety Steering Committee. A wide variety of actions are carried out, including training, driving audits, speed limiters, etc. 

The challenges of road safety were also highlighted in a shared set of safety rules the Group rolled out in 2020 for every Colas location across the globe, along with Safety Week events held last October.

The signing of the seven commitments will make it possible to bolster communication on very concrete risks such as using the telephone when driving, addictions, seat belts, fatigue, speed and safety distances.

“Safety is a major focus of our CSR approach. By signing this agreement, we are highlighting our ongoing commitment to protecting our employees and keeping everyone safe on the road”, underlines Frédéric Gardès, Chairman and CEO of Colas.