Shell Partners MIROS To Improve Road Safety
Shell Malaysia today announced its partnership with the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to improve road safety through the International Road Safety Assessment Programme (iRAP).
iRAP uses a vehicle outfitted with cameras and sensors which feed the footage and other data to a portable road survey and analysis system called RADIS (Road Attribute Data Logger Inspection System; developed by MIROS in collaboration with Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka). This system uses 3 front-facing high-resolution cameras, inclinometer and geo-reference data to analyze 5,000km of expressways and federal roads nationwide for a start. iRAP then assigns appropriate ratings based on the data collected. The ratings are based on a 5-star scale and will serve as a benchmark to pinpoint where improvements are needed.
Through a consistent methodology, the data will be used to develop high-return road safety countermeasures designed to prevent road accidents. In 2015, the Royal Malaysia Police recorded 489,606 cases of road accidents in Malaysia with 6,706 fatalities. Road fatalities not only cause economic loss but familial loss as well.
As one of the leading fuel retailers in the country with over 950 stations nationwide, Shell Malaysia welcomes MIROS’ effort to improve road safety standards and most importantly, to share this information with the public, so drivers can be more aware and drive carefully. As such Shell is contributing RM 450,000 to this 3-year partnership with MIROS to drive research and development activities related to the programme.
Commenting on the partnership, Datuk Iain Lo, Chairman of Shell Malaysia said, “Safety is part of our DNA and road transport is a necessary part of our business activities. Just for scale, today in Malaysia alone, our contractors’ drivers travel about 50 million kilometers yearly, the equivalent of 4 times around the world every day! It is our hope that this Road Assessment Programme will help reduce accidents on our roads. Shell will also use iRAP star ratings in our journey management plans and improve our own road safety measures. We hope others will do likewise. I also hope that our action today will inspire other corporate sponsors to support MIROS for this important initiative”.
MIROS Director-General Professor Dr. Wong Shaw Voon said, “We will utilize this sponsorship to elevate our research activities to a higher level in achieving better outcomes for our stakeholders and road users. This partnership will allow for continuous cooperation and sustainable road safety efforts in Malaysia”.
The signing ceremony of this partnership was witnessed by Minister of Transport, YB Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai. He said “the Ministry of Transport aims to provide an integrated, efficient, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and above all, safe transportation system. We need the participation of all stakeholders to address the pressing issue of rising road accident and fatality rates. With this collaborative effort, I am heartened to see MIROS and Shell Malaysia collaborating and leading the way in improving road safety measures”.
