Fernando Cammarota, CEPA: Driver distraction causes most accidents

Based in Uruguay's capital Montevideo, international traffic accident control company CEPA Safe Drive (CEPA) is a leader in Latin America when it comes to traffic accident control and the offering of risk management programs.

Fernando Cammarota, who is Chairman of the Board and Founder of the company, enlightens us on the reasons by which accidents occur and the strategies needed to reduce these unfortunate mishaps.

The executive is also a member of the Global Fleet Latin America advisory board.

Global Fleet: First of all, could you tell us which countries CEPA covers in Latin America?

Cammarota: From our offices in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, we cover the entire Latin American region. We provide services to our clients that have fleets in different countries by relocating our trainers and consultants to where they are needed.

This model of adapting our logistics to the client’s needs instead of forcing the client to relocate their drivers to a predefined location has worked well in the region. For us, flexibility is paramount to providing homogeneous quality services across the region.

When requested by our clients, we also provide services outside of Latin America, covering countries such as the US, Germany, India, Indonesia, and others. 

Global Fleet: Do you have any local partners abroad?

Sure, we have teamed up with US-based CEI/Element of the Global SafeDrive Alliance. Through our collaboration, we provide a unique and global one-stop shop solution for multinationals looking to implement and manage successful global road safety programs in their organizations.

Moreover, through an agreement with a European based partner who provides a robust network across EMEA., we have recently expanded our reach to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Global Fleet: Returning our focus closer to home, could you tell me which Latam countries have the worst accident rates, and why?

Cammarota: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, and Ecuador.

It is important to bear in mind that there are various contributing factors in the region, Some of these include, but are not limited to, the ease of obtaining a driver’s license, poor or subpar road infrastructure, old or poorly maintained vehicles, limited traffic enforcement, differences in traffic regulations, and a lack of safety awareness. 

Global Fleet: Besides this, could you be more specific on letting us know what causes car accidents in Latin America, and what can be done to improve matters?

Cammarota: In our experience, driver distraction is one of the main causes of crashes in Latin America today, and for commercial drivers, fatigue is also of major concern.

Besides senior management commitment and engagement, the pillars to our safety program include developing and disseminating a corporate fleet safety policy, providing driver training, appointing a fleet safety team, developing action plans to foster continuous improvement, pushing overall fleet and road-safety, and evaluating all those involved.

Global Fleet: Could you tell me about some of the training programs CEPA offers and which industries are in the most need?

Cammarota: It all starts with a Driver Assessment (DA). Once this is done, we define driver training needs based on the DA results. Through behavior-based training, among the programs we offer are track-based or on-road Behind the Wheel Driver Training, At-Risk Driver Training, and Driver Coaching.

The most common industries seeking our services are Pharmaceuticals, Beverage Distribution, Petrochemicals, Mining, Agriculture, Agrochemicals, and Utilities.

Fernando Cammarota will be one of the speakers at the Fleet Latam expert meeting in Sao Paulo being held on October 30 during the Welcome Tomorrow 2018 mobility conference. For more information, see more here.   

Driving while talking on the phone or texting is one of the most common distractions resulting in accidents. (Source: Shutterstock)