Proton mobile teams out to install rear lap belts
Just in case some of you are forgetting, the Government deadline for the fitment of seat belts into vehicles are looming. Long lagging behind global standards, Malaysia finally caught up with the times and began enforcing laws requiring rear passengers to buckle up on the road.
Exceptions, of course, are made for vehicles not so equipped. Installation of a seat belt involves greater engineering work than bolting on a spoiler or side skirting. Due to the enormous forces at work during a collision, anchorage points of the seat belt have to be engineered into the vehicle’s chassis right from the start in order for it to properly restrain its occupant. Retrofitting simply does not work.
There are, however, some vehicles on our roads that were sold without seat belts for the rear centre passenger even though they were engineered with proper seat belt anchorages. Proton and Perodua were responsible for putting a few such vehicles on the road, and so did Honda, who sold more than 25,000 units of the City from 2003 to 2005 without the rear centre belt.
Unlike what some may think, there are no exemptions in place for these vehicles in terms of the seat belt rule, but they do have an exemption, and that exemption is coming to its end this 31 December. For the past three years, the manufacturers, in collaboration with the Road Safety Department, have been offering customers free installation of rear centre belts on the affected vehicles, and true to Malaysian culture, many were not bothered until time’s almost up. Nothing like a ticking clock to spur people.
If you still haven’t had your rear belts installed, but dread the long queue of the service centre, help is on the way if you’re a Proton owner. Since 5 December this year, eight mobile teams of four service personnel each have been moving around the country to provide free installation of the belts to more than 700 Proton cars nationwide. The service is specifically extended to owners of the Proton Saga LMST and Gen.2 made between 2004 and 2008. In the month-long campaign, Proton’s mobile seat belt team will be visiting used car outlets, army and police stations, Government offices and public universities. Installation takes approximately 30 minutes per vehicle.
The activities of the Mobile Teams complement a series of road shows and other on-the-ground programmes around the country which began in September, that included awareness campaigns at Jusco shopping malls, Tesco and Giant hypermarkets, and selected Shell and Petronas petrol stations. Proton has also set up special hospitality and safety marquees at highway rest stop areas in Dengkil, Ayer Keroh, Gunung Semenggol and Temerloh.
So, if you’re too busy to get to the seat belt, the seat belt is now coming to you. No excuses not to buckle up now.
