Cathay Traffic Safety Protection  Project

Cathay Century Insurance
0800-212-880
[email protected]
5F., No. 296, Sec. 4, Ren'ai Rd., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

Traffic accidents in Taiwan incur economic losses of over TWD 500 billion annually, roughly equivalent to 3% of the country's GDP. This is not only a heavy burden on society but also represents the heartbreaking stories of broken families. In light of the frequent occurrence of traffic accidents, Cathay Century Insurance has contemplated incorporating “loss control” —the core competence of the property insurance — into charity. If “damage compensation” for traffic accidents can be changed to “risk prevention,” a positive circle of traffic safety promotion will be created.

Cathay Century Insurance upholds the principle of integrity, accountability, and innovation to act as an advocate of traffic safety promotion. By integrating various professional resources, cutting-edge digital technology, and capitalizing on the influence of social media, we have devised a brand-new traffic safety education model. The automobile risk consultant unit was founded in 2014 to monitor different traffic safety-related issues; furthermore, through collaboration between industry, government, and academia, Cathay Century Insurance can prevent traffic accidents caused by reckless driving and misconceptions. We strive to increase the risk awareness of our policyholders and the general public by conveying the concept of “loss control”, thereby transforming them into tangible actions that can prevent traffic accidents and minimize losses. This will in turn give momentum to changes in Taiwan’s traffic. Current projects include “Zero Accident Academy”, “Accident-free Rider and Biker”, and “Traffic Risk and Safety Map”.

“Zero Accident Academy” established in 2015 is an online traffic safety knowledge-sharing platform consisting of various sections. “Driver Assessment” evaluates a driver’s “psychology,” “reaction,” and “knowledge” to offer him or her personalized suggestions to help address their problems. By effectively correcting the driver’s behaviors, it is possible to reduce the potential for human error. “Hot Topic” and “Insurance Notebook” explore the topic of road safety from various perspectives. Educational articles, tips, and promotional videos are published regularly to convey the new concepts of traffic safety and materialize the goal of “Driver Reeducation”. The number of visitors to the Zero Accident Academy portal has risen every year and has officially broken the benchmark of one million people in August 2020. Nearly 40,000 people have taken the test and more than 60,000 have browsed through the articles. Thanks to multimedia marketing on the website and social media platforms, Cathay Century Insurance can communicate correct traffic safety-related knowledge and realize the vision of “Sharing, Co-Learning, and Common Good.”

“Accident-free Rider and Biker” focuses on the driver’s vehicle mode development. Taking into consideration the age of onset of traffic accidents, this project series are meant to compensate for the lack of traffic safety education among students. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are applied to reshape bicycle and motorcycle driving safety education, enabling students to experience realistic road environments and understand riding-related risks. They also learn about correct driving behaviors and safety concepts. Furthermore, since educational resources in rural areas are generally lacking and driving without a license is considered the norm among students there, Cathay Century Insurance conducted traffic safety campaigns at Lanyu High School in 2018, Zhiben and Fengtian Junior High Schools in 2019 respectively to address problems such as speeding, riding without a helmet, and running the red light through the application of VR technology. This not only endows students with a brand-new experience but also implements the idea of road safety in them at a young age.

“Traffic Risk and Safety Map” was developed in conjunction with Professor Wu Tsung-Hsiu from Department of Transportation & Logistics Management at National Chiao Tung University. Accident hot spots in and around the university are assessed from points of view of pedestrians, vehicles, and roads. Defensive driving recommendations are provided after examining different aspects of these locations. In addition, transportation engineering improvement strategies are devised to lower the rate of traffic accidents among students and community residents. The project has completed traffic risk and safety maps for National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (2017), Asia University (2018), and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (2019). In 2020, the scope of service was expanded when the Tainan City Bureau of Transportation commissioned a “Road Safety Information Pack for Yongkang District,” in the hope of protecting the safety of commuting students and citizens.

3627278260. Cathay Century Insurance has vigorously promoted “loss prevention” projects at various schools, the influence reached only teachers and students on campus. Therefore, it is hoped that collaboration with university social responsibility-related organizations in the future can expand the project's outreach beyond campus. After local resources are integrated, professional resources can be introduced and applied to communities, shopping districts, and industry clusters to teach correct driving behaviors and traffic safety concepts. In doing so, government agencies’ deficiencies can be made up, thereby decreasing the frequency and severity of accidents and fostering prosperous development of schools, residents, communities, and industry clusters.

According to domestic and foreign traffic accident-related statistics, over 90% of traffic accidents can be attributed to “human error” such as insufficient risk identification, insufficient awareness and reaction, inadequate driving, illegal driving, or weak traffic accident prevention. In the future, Cathay Century Insurance plans co-host “Road Safety Workshop” with university social responsibility-related organizations to train “Traffic Safety Seed Lecturers.” Besides, we are also able to help facilitate the planning of “Traffic Safety Campaign Week” by applying Cathay's proprietary VR and AR traffic safety education apps hosting promotional courses, and experiential activities. The aim is to elevate people's road safety awareness across all age groups from “clueless and somewhat understand” to “comprehensive understanding” via the brand-new experience of digital education (VR and AR), thereby implementing safe, altruistic behaviors that are conducive to engendering co-prosperity in society.

Several domestic universities have already established transportation and logistics-related departments, and there are now many students and instructors who have professional knowledge in road engineering and traffic safety-related areas. Cathay Century Insurance can play the role of a coordinator and work with professors and students to investigate and study traffic accident hot spots in life circle. The results are not only used to provide the traffic risk assessment report but also compile traffic risk and safety map used as safety reminders for students on campus. Additionally, the maps can be posted at conspicuous locations for students or guests and in turn generate external influence. Beginning from road safety for students, residents, and workers traffic accident hot spots have to be actively sought out. Based on studies done by experts and scholars, university social responsibility groups can form an alliance with local, communities, shopping districts, and industries to demand relevant authorities to improve poor traffic designs that cause traffic accidents.

The promotion of road safety can be carried out in conjunction with university clubs or film studies departments. Traffic safety-themed micro movies, information packs, or host flash mob activities at traffic accident-prone road sections and intersections are possible projects. These can spread messages quickly and efficiently to campus, local; communities, shopping districts, and industry clusters. These projects can incorporate local cultures and landmarks, bringing community development into the agenda. These projects can take place along with campaigns for placemaking, shopping district revitalization, and work safety. While promoting local tourism and seasonal festivals, such as gastronomy week, Tung blossom festival, or cycling festival, these road safety projects can remind visitors of traffic hot spots and the importance of road safety to prevent caused by unfamiliar road conditions or driving errors. At the same time, these initiatives are combined with various road safety promotional approaches to enrich the meaning of the events, allowing traffic safety promotion and economic development to complement each other and revitalize business districts in the post-pandemic era.

Traffic safety requires an ongoing learning process; hence Cathay Century Insurance has invested in resources over the long run to address traffic safety issues, and our projects have garnered wide recognition. By setting out from school through the university social responsibility project, we strive to influence the surrounding communities and expand to the shopping districts and industry clusters nearby, thereby embedding the DNA of traffic safety in everyday life. By raising everyone’s traffic safety awareness, we expect to accomplish the ultimate objective of creating a “Zero Traffic Accident” living circle.

Further Reading:
Official website of Cathay Century Insurance

https://www.cathay-ins.com.tw/cathayins/personal/

Zero Accident Academy

https://carrisk.cathay-ins.com.tw/