KUALA LUMPUR – Leading road safety advocate Petron Malaysia in collaboration with the Road Safety Department (JKJR) today launched the 6th installment of its Road Safety Programme for the youth. The programme aims to increase awareness on road safety, steps to practicing good driving and riding habits, and keeping vehicles well-maintained and road-worthy. Last year, more than 4,800 university students benefitted from this initiative all across Malaysia.
The launching ceremony on November 12 was attended by Director-General of the Road Safety Department of Malaysia, Mohd Nasri Bin Ishak at the Universiti Technologi Mara (UiTM) Selangor
Branch, Puncak Alam Campus.
“The uniqueness of our Road Safety Programme is its ability to reach out to students and educate them on how they can be safer on the road through a digital learning experience that is appealing to them. We believe the programme can raise their level of awareness and understanding of road safety, empower them, and ultimately prevent accidents and save lives,” said Petron Head for Corporate Safety, Security, Health and Environment Lokman Hani.
According to Mohd Nasri Bin Ishak, Director of the Road Safety Department, “Petron Road Safety Digital Challenge is one of Petron’s latest initiatives or innovations in diversifying road safety campaigns especially for young people today. The use of the latest technologies involving mobile apps, known as mobile apps is seen as an appropriate step forward in the dissemination of road safety knowledge among young people who are generally exposed to the use of electronic and digital equipment such as mobile phones.”
Eleven universities and colleges namely Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), UiTM Puncak Perdana, UiTM Shah Alam, Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA, Kolej Poly-Tech MARA, SEGI Universiti & Colleges, Dasein Academy of Art, dan Saito University College including UiTM Puncak Alam will take part in this year’s Road Safety Programme involving about 6,000 youth participants. The programme, which will run until 10 December 2019, involve an online game which allows them to play against students from other
universities.
The online game will test participants’ knowledge on road safety, car care, and maintenance as they complete a series of online quizzes on traffic rules, interactive preliminary vehicle check for cars and motorcycles, road signages, tyre changing, and car wipers, amongst others. It is open to all universities and colleges in Malaysia and anyone with a valid student ID can participate.
“We believe road safety is everyone’s responsibility. Through the online platform, we are able to invite more participants to be onboard the road safety initiative,” continued Lokman.
According to the JKJR, a report on the main causes of death in Malaysia in 2018, death from road accidents is ranked fourth with 3.7%, after ischemic heart disease (35.3%), pneumonia (11.8%) followed by cerebral disease (7.8%).
In 2018, the number of deaths recorded was 6,284 compared to the number of deaths recorded in 2017 of 6,740. This difference of 456 or 7.25% decrease is an indication that all the initiatives taken by various parties to ensure the safety of the road have a positive impact. JKJR’s role as the coordinator for new initiatives towards improving road safety has fully supported every initiative undertaken by various parties to reduce road accidents and fatalities.
In order to make the Road Safety Programme a success, Petron collaborated with its road safety partners namely the Road Transport Department, BOSCH Automotive Aftermarket, Shah Bandar Driving School, Nestle and Yeo’s.
Up for grabs are six weekly prizes for participants who completed the challenge with the highest score and best time. The first prize winner will receive RM1,000 cash, while second prize winners will receive RM500 cash each and five third prize winners will receive RM200 cash. Meanwhile, five weekly consolation prize winners will receive Petron Miles Card worth RM50 each. Winners will be announced on Petron’s Facebook and Twitter sites.
Since the launch of the road safety programme in 2014, Petron has reached out to over 15,700 students at 21 universities and colleges. The Road Safety Program is aligned with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities which targets to improve road safety.
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About Petron Malaysia
Petron Malaysia is a leading company in Malaysia’s downstream oil market. Its 88,000 barrel-perday Port Dickson Refinery produces a wide variety of world-class fuels which is distributed through 8 terminals strategically located across the country. Through more than 640 stations nationwide, it retails premium fuels namely Blaze 100 Euro 4M, Blaze 97 Euro 4M, Blaze 95, Turbo Diesel Euro 5 and Diesel Max. Petron is committed to its vision to be the leading provider of total customer solutions in the oil sector and allied businesses. Please visit petron.com.my.
Media contact: Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd’s Corporate Affairs Dept.; Suraya Haris
Ong at +603-2082 8652 / 012-3680346 or email at suraya.haris@petron.com.my.