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Indonesia is a ‘high-risk’ country for Japan Tobacco International (JTI) due to its high number of road-traffic incidents.
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In the eight months leading up to July 2023, JTI Indonesia’s commercial drivers were involved in 13 road collisions.
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Then, in July 2023, JTI Indonesia rolled out Brightmile.
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In the eight months since July 2023 there have been zero collisions.
Indonesia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to drive. It ranks seventh in the world for total number of road deaths per year and has the highest number of motorcycle deaths in the world. Twelve out of every 100,000 people die in motorcycle accidents.
To make its roads safer, the Indonesian government announced late in 2023 that it was creating a National General Plan for Road Transport Traffic Safety to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the country.
The Head of Traffic Corps for the National Police, Brigadier General Aan Suhanan, said: "Our plan includes five pillars: road-safety management, safe roads, safe vehicles, safe behaviours of road users and the post-accident care of victims.”
Suhanan explained that the plan resulted from concern over the high rate of traffic accidents in Indonesia, which had reached 134,000 incidents in the first 11 months of 2023.
He added that the death toll from traffic accidents had exceeded 24,000, while a further 12,000 had suffered life-changing injuries.
Forward-thinking practice
Japan Tobacco International (JTI) – a major employer in Indonesia – has been consistently ahead of the curve when it comes to road safety and has taken several steps to ensure its drivers are as safe as possible.
Since then, the JTI ‘On The Road Safety Standard’ has been introduced, which requires all newly purchased or leased company vehicles should be NCAP 5 ranked. The company has also mandated that an automatic notification is sent out to ensure that all JTI drivers have a valid driver's license before operating company vehicles.
But arguably the company’s most significant intervention came with the adoption of Brightmile in July 2023.
Positive impacts
Brightmile Customer Success Team Lead Tom Binza explains: “We started the programme in July 2023 and we haven't had a single incident since. No collisions have come through their health and safety incident process. Whereas, in the previous eight months, they had 13, which is really positive.
"Of course, none of this would've been possible without our Brightmile champion in Indonesia, EHS & FM Head Rizky Anggito. His management of the programme for JTI Indonesia has been instrumental.”
Tom adds that this is part of the first phase of deployment with JTI, which initially focused on its higher-risk countries and so Indonesia was one of the first programmes Brightmile launched with them.
Brightmile was launched in Indonesia with 165 commercial drivers, with the programme successfully translated into Bahasa Indonesian in a matter of weeks.
The Brightmile rewards programme has also incentivised drivers to engage with the App and improve their driving behaviour. With more than US$800 in vouchers being distributed so far, Brightmile is rewarding drivers for achieving the targets of the fleet and self-assessing their behaviour.
Tom adds: “We will also be rolling out vehicle checks that can be completed directly in-app to simplify the process for the drivers and the managers.”
Following the country’s success, Brightmile is now working with JTI in 20 different countries.
Tom says that it was important for these early programmes to demonstrate the value of Brightmile and show some positive results to enable Brightmile to be rolled out to other high- and medium-risk countries.
JTI’s Rizky Anggito is certainly happy with progress. He says: “Maintaining positive behaviour and avoiding at-risk behaviours are essential for safe driving,” he says.
“With Brightmile and its incentive programme, our drivers receive the necessary assistance to increase their awareness and achieve these goals sustainably.”
