M'sia among having most dangerous roads
Published on: Thursday, May 28, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia is ranked among the top 25 most dangerous countries for road users. Fatal accidents are becoming increasingly common these days, with negligence being one of the causes.According to the Road Safety Department's (JKJR) Road Safety Statistics Book 2014, 80.6 per cent of the accidents are caused by human factors.ADVERTISEMENT As the world's leading car insurer with approximately 50 million motorists insured globally, Allianz feels a clear responsibility to communicate key safety messages to a worldwide audience."Road accidents have cost innocent lives and we at Allianz would like to focus on what we can do to help in reducing accidents, or better yet prevent them from happening altogether."Accidents bring pain and loss not only to the victims but to their families, friends and society. Road safety is highly important as it affects everyone. We hope to keep Malaysians travelling on the road safe," said Allianz Malaysia Berhad Chief Executive Officer Zakri Khir. Aside from Allianz Malaysia's Road Safety initiatives that are rolled out in accident prone areas and schools, the company also shows its support to its partners namely JKJR, Petrosains and Safe Kids Malaysia by distributing its road safety items at designated road safety advocacy campaigns held in conjunction with the 3rd UN Global Road Safety Week from May 4 to 10.ADVERTISEMENT Throughout the Road Safety Week campaigns, 120 Child Safety Booster Seats, 60 Sirim-approved helmets, 300 reflective safety windbreakers, 500 reflective motorcycle stickers, 3,650 reflective wristbands and 1,650 road safety tips booklets were distributed to students and public. "We will continue with our efforts to instil road safety awareness among Malaysians to help reduce the number of road fatalities in the country," said Zakri.
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Additionally, a pledge signing for the #SaveKidsLives campaign was also held during the Global Road Safety Week, where participants pledged to call for action to stop the growing number of road deaths worldwide; ask decision makers to save children's lives by putting road safety measures in place; and support the movement for road safety led by children around the world.Around 186,300 children below 18 years old die from road traffic crashes annually, and rates of road traffic death are three times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. The 3rd UN Global Road Safety Week focused on the theme "Children and Road Safety- #SaveKidsLives" – to highlight the plight of children on the world's roads and generate action to better ensure their safety. The campaign featured hundreds of events hosted by governments, international agencies, civil society organizations, and private companies, including the delivery of the "Child Declaration for Road Safety" to policy-makers. Allianz Malaysia's road safety initiatives in 2015 include plans to organise road safety advocacy campaigns in schools, at accident prone areas as well as during major festivals to create road safety awareness among members of the public. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Since 2011, the company has distributed 2,056 Child Safety Booster Seats, 7,980 reflective wristbands and 6,822 road safety tips booklets in its 115 campaigns and initiatives.Globally, Allianz partners with the FIA Foundation's Road Safety Fund in support of the UN "Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020" under the mission "Drive Safely".