Volvo in collaboration with KidZania Kuala Lumpur, continues to bring road safety education to schools in Malaysia. The partnership between Volvo Trucks, Volvo Cars and KidZania began in 2017 and has helped educate over 90,000 children in two years.
Through the partnership, KidZania features a Volvo Car Dealership in its child-friendly cityscape. As KidZania provides an opportunity for children to roleplay as adults in various professions, the collaboration allows children to not only have fun roleplaying but learn the basics of road safety as well.
In line with Volvo’s vision that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo Car by 2020, children in KidZania learn how to be seated correctly in a car, how to properly use a safety belt as well as the importance of child seats. Over the course of two years, a total of 32,294 children were taught the basics of road safety via the Volvo Car Dealership in KidZania.
“At Volvo, we strive to create a safer future for our children. The best solution we found was education, as the change it could bring in these children’s lives is truly incredible,” said Lennart Stegland, Managing Director of Volvo Car Malaysia.
Extending beyond the Volvo Car Dealership in KidZania, the partnership also incorporated Volvo Trucks’ hallmark road safety campaign, the ‘Stop, Look and Wave’ campaign. It was inducted into KidZania Go! and became an integral part of the mobile school outreach programme.
With Stop, Look and Wave, children around the nation experienced what it is like being behind the wheels of a Volvo Truck. They attended a classroom session in a specially converted Volvo Trucks trailer where they learn the importance of identifying blind spots and practice proper road etiquette. A total of 57,774 school children benefitted from the campaign across 260 schools and 37 community events nationwide.
“Deaths caused by traffic accidents around the world are well over 1.2 million each year,” said Peden. “If nothing is done, this number is expected to increase by 45% in the next 15 years. Volvo is committed to our vision of ‘Zero Accidents’. Aside from pioneering technology that helps save lives, we also believe that road safety education, especially among children, can truly make a difference,” said Mitch Peden, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia.
In addition to school visits, Volvo also helped underprivileged children by providing them an opportunity to learn outside the classroom. Together, Volvo Trucks and Volvo Cars sponsored a total of 1,600 people that were made up of kids and their teachers to Kidzania between January and November 2018. The most recent school visit concluded on October 23rd 2018, where Mitch Peden and Lennart Stegland as well as a representative from the Ministry of Education met with over 380 school children and their teachers when they made their maiden trip to Kidzania.
“We are proud to have found strong partners in Kidzania and the department of education for Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan, both of whom share the same vision for road safety as we do at Volvo Trucks. We continue to make education on safety a priority for the Volvo brand with our See and Be Seen and Stop, Look and Wave campaign as we head into 2019,” Peden added on.
The emphasis on road safety initiatives conducted by Volvo Malaysia increased awareness from all walks of life. As a result of the school outreach, Volvo Malaysia has extended its efforts on road safety at the requests of communities, associations and collaborations with governmental agencies.
To request for Volvo road safety activities, please contact Volvo Trucks Malaysia or download the Stop Look and Wave teaching materials on www.volvotrucks.my.
