In a quest to empower women drivers to be stewards of their own cars and to embrace safe practices on ours roads, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia (Bosch AA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, supported by PROTON, Petron and the Road Safety Department of Malaysia (JKJR) recently organised a car maintenance workshop dubbed ‘Heels & Wheels’.
The car and road safety workshop was officiated by Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development and attended by 60 personnel from the Department of Women’s Development. The areas of focus were car maintenance knowledge and the importance of child restraint systems (CRS), and the correct installation of baby and child seats in a car.
“A study by Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) shows that 58% of children and infants death in the country is due to road accidents and the lack of child restraints is a large contributing factor to the fatalities. I am very excited and grateful that this workshop is emphasising essential car maintenance including the importance of CRS considering the compulsory implementation of child car seats next year. Using CRS could help reduce the risk of fatal injuries by up to 70%”, said Yeoh.
Additionally, a Bosch AA 2018 survey among Malaysian drivers showed that only 1% of women know how to troubleshoot a car breakdown. During the workshop, Bosch AA imparted simple car maintenance checks involving four main areas – battery, wipers, engine oil and tyres. Participants were given hands-on lessons on how to identify signs of a weak battery and worn out wipers, change a flat tire, check engine oil levels and most importantly, what to do in an emergency or breakdown.
“At Bosch AA, car and road safety are key focus areas for us. We believe proactive car care and maintenance with the usage of quality car parts are fundamental to reduce risks of car breakdowns and road accidents. As we celebrate our National Day, we hope that the ‘Heels & Wheels’ workshop can empower and inspire women drivers to take charge of their cars and have a peace of mind while driving”, said Pang Yoon Kong, Country Manager of Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia.
The workshop also featured a presentation on car safety technologies by PROTON, a ‘Safe Habits at Service Stations’ talk by Aliza Azimah Ahmad from Petron Malaysia, a child car seat safety demonstration by Sweet Heart Paris and a talk on ‘Stigma amongst Women Drivers’ by JKJR.
“Safety and peace of mind have all always been a key component of the PROTON brand promise. We have been strong advocates of road safety for over three decades and believe that it is a responsibility that requires consistent engagement with the Malaysian public. Campaigns like this, play an important role in creating awareness and educating people about the importance of road safety beyond driving”, said Vijayaratnam Tharumartnam, Head of Group Communications for PROTON.
The #BoschEmpowersWomen initiative is part of Bosch AA’s flagship car and road safety campaign ‘Drive for Life’ that was launched earlier in May this year, which supports the government’s agenda to reduce road accidents in the country.
