KEDAH – Recognizing blind spots especially in long and large vehicles is extremely important for both drivers and pedestrians. In spreading awareness and increasing alertness on this vital matter, Petron Malaysia recently visited 500 secondary students in Kedah during its Road Safety Schools Outreach program.
The Road Safety School Outreach program aims to inculcate road safety practices among secondary school students. Partnering closely with the Malaysia Road Safety Department (JKJR), Petron promotes road safety awareness to help save lives and prevent accidents on the road. This year, SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman in Alor Setar hosted the program that included four participating schools, namely SMK Pendang, SMK Paya Kemunting, SMK Bandar Bukit Kayu Hitam and SMK Dato’ Syed Ahmad.
“Our Road Safety program is one of Petron’s longest running and most important advocacies since 2013. The program is designed to share information and communicate safe driving and riding techniques to young, novice road users. We also want them to adopt good road safety behavior by emphasizing that all road accidents are preventable,” said Petron Corporate Safety, Security, Health and Environment Head, Lokman Hani.
Many motorists do not realize that large vehicles mean a larger blind spot which may be an obstacle when changing lanes. To make students understand blind spots better and lessen the risk of collision, Petron used its fuel tanker to demonstrate the various danger-zones of long and large vehicles.
“Drivers must always be alert. Road obstacles such as overtaking large vehicles may pose a challenge especially to new and inexperienced drivers. It is important to understand simple guidelines such as knowing when to change lanes, using your signals, identifying blind spots and paying attention to the road. This is something that all road users should be made aware of early on,” added Lokman.
Petron distributed 50 reflective safety harnesses to the students. Its partner for this activity, MODENAS demonstrated crucial motorcycle riding and handling techniques on slippery roads.
Petron Road Safety Schools Outreach program benefitted almost 2,000 students from 24 schools in Negeri Sembilan, Johor Kuantan and Kedah. Last year, Petron went to SMK Sungai Layar with more than 400 students from 10 other participating schools in attendance. In 2017, 670 students from SMK Pekula Jaya and 10 other participating schools joined Petron’s road safety program in Kedah.
“Traffic safety plays an important role in shaping the attitudes and behaviors of young people to ensure that they will become responsible drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or bikers. As we are drivers too, we recognize the importance of building up road safety awareness amongst novice users,” said Lokman.
In the same event, Petron and BOMBA also held briefings on proper checks and safety features of LPG cooking gas as well as a live demonstration of extinguishing a fire.
As part of its road safety efforts, Petron also partners with universitiesto bring its advocacy to an even wider audience. In addition, Petron teams up with automotive partners to give free car safety inspections at Petron Service Stations during festive seasons.
The Petron Road Safety Program is aligned with the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, a global advocacy that promotes safe driving through strict observance of traffic laws, use of seatbelts, wearing of proper helmet for motorcyclists, among others.