Volvo Trucks Malaysia Puts Safety First With Two Road Safety Campaigns
Volvo Trucks Malaysia has two road safety campaigns running i.e. “Stop, Look and Wave” and “See and Be Seen”, with the objective of increasing road safety awareness particularly for children and cyclists. But while professional truck drivers have the responsibility to drive in a safe manner, other road users should also be aware of the limitations and challenges of driving a behemoth of a vehicle.
A fine example would be the enormous areas of blind spots a truck driver has to contend with, as well as its wide turning radius, especially when the truck is hauling load. The “See and Be Seen” initiative is aimed at increasing this awareness for other road users that share the road with a truck (or bus). Armed with the knowledge that most accidents are due to human factors such as lack of attention, poor understanding and misjudgement, Volvo Trucks took the lead in designing fun activities that demonstrate how safety can be improved in the interactions between cyclists, motorcylists and truck drivers that will help to reduce the risk of accidents.
As part of the “See and Be Seen” campaign, Volvo Trucks also organised a Festive Season Safe Drive campaign, in collaboration with Petronas Carigali in Kerteh, to help educate the public, especially motorcyclists, on road safety. A large number of road deaths in Malaysia involve motorcyclists and Volvo Trucks, with the help of its professional driver trainers, highlighted the risk of riding in a truck’s blind spots.
“81% of road accidents in Malaysia are due to human errors,” said Mitch Peden, the Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia. “It is not enough for us to make our trucks safer, we play an important role in making sure the world’s roads are safer too. Safety talks with our partners and the communities that we operate in are part of Volvo Trucks’ on-going efforts to make our roads safer for everyone.”
Meanwhile, the “Stop, Look and Wave” campaign was pioneered by Volvo Trucks in Sweden and is designed to help children understand how to act safely near traffic. With three simple steps, “to first stop, to then look and notice their surroundings and finally, to wave at the driver and make sure they have been seen,” the campaign offers simple yet important advice to children that may ultimately save lives.
“Over 260,000 children around the world die in traffic accidents each year. Through collaboration with local partners, we hope to do our part to keep Malaysian children safe on the road,” adds Peden.
It is hoped that through these two campaigns, Volvo Trucks can have a positive impact on reducing road accidents and make a difference to the lives of road users, not just in Malaysia but around the globe.
Volvo Trucks actively supports and collaborates with communities and organisations across Malaysia to help promote road safety. If you are interested in inviting Volvo Trucks to talk about the “Stop, Look and Wave” or “See and Be Seen”, please reach out to: info.volvotrucksMY@volvo.com
