In conjunction with the approaching Hari Raya festive season, and the 60th anniversary of the three-point safety belt, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has launched the #SafeDrive with Volvo Car Malaysia road safety campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness on the importance of using safety belts for all car occupants.
“All automotive safety technologies rely on the three-point safety belt as a reference point. Without the safety belt, any protective or preventive features in a car could become ineffective. The misconception that the public have is that airbags, crash structures, and active safety systems alone are enough to protect in-car occupants; this is of course, inaccurate,” explained Nalin Jain, MD of VCM.
The three-point safety belt was invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1959, and became the single most important safety innovation ever introduced in cars. Noting its significance, Volvo gave the patent away so it could be fitted to any car from any manufacturer. Based on internal data collected by Volvo since the 1960s, it’s estimated that the three-point safety belt has saved more than a million lives.
“Volvo is continually introducing many safety innovations, but it is high time that we get back to the basics – we will work closely with the Road Safety Department (JKJR) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to raise public awareness on the importance of using the three-point safety belt. I believe the increased use of safety belt by all car occupants, will help to reduce the number of road fatalities and serious injuries in the country,” Jain added.
According to data gathered by MIROS in 2017, an average of 16 road fatalities is recorded daily in the month of Ramadan and Syawal, a shockingly high number. A way to reduce this is to ensure that everyone, including the rear passengers, are properly secured by safety belts and child seats.
To gain maximum exposure, the campaign messaging will be rolled-out via various mediums including radio, newspapers, websites, social media and dealerships.
Volvo Cars has actively collected crash data from actual accidents for more than 40 years. Recently, it announced Project EVA (Equal Vehicles for All), allowing any car manufacturer to access its research data to build safer cars. Read more on the EVA initiative here.
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Wasting money to campaign basic thing.
Better spend the money to buy more transport for enforcement agency to conduct enforcement.
Malaysian are rude when the topic is related to road transport. They ‘earn’ / ‘pay’ everything so its up to them to do anything they want.
TQ Volvo for giving away the patent for free. Putting lives first before profit. This is CSR at it’s best.
Good job Volvo! It is sad to see people driving and being driven around to not wear seat belt. It is the most important safety feature of a car, yet many refrain from using it. There were times when I used a seat belt while being driven in a van, and a friend laughed at me for looking uncool. Sad to see such mentality. Honestly, I would never let my passenger be in my car if they are not wearing their seat belt. Better look a little uncool rather than dying when you are not supposed to.
Safety is priority, no matter what the brands. Different brands but moving synergistically towards a common goal of a safer vehicle. Tahniah!
VolvoCar, Geely, P1, Mesidis, VolvoTrucks, Lotus, L&C, Polestar > all
I don’t understand why putting on seatbelts is such a hard thing to do for some people. The first thing I do when I get inside a vehicle, either as driver or passenger, is to put on the seatbelt. It’s like the natural thing to do.