In conjunction with the upcoming Independence Day, Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia (Bosch AA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the support of Proton, Petron and Road Safety Department of Malaysia (JKJR) organized a women’s car maintenance workshop.
The workshop is aimed to educate and empower women drivers to be stewards of their own car and road safety as well as children with independence and confidence.
A #BoschEmpowersWomen initiative, the car and road safety workshop titled ‘Heels & Wheels’ was officiated by YB Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development and was attended by 60 women staff from the Department of Women’s Development.
The workshop primarily covered simple car maintenance knowledge that women drivers can easily learn with a dedicated session on the importance of child restraint systems (CRS) – baby and child car seats – including the correct methods of installation and usage.
“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 car seats is a large contributing factor to the fatalities. I am very excited and grateful that this workshop is emphasizing 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 YB Hannah 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 taught simple car maintenance checks involving four key car components – battery, wipers, engine oil, and tyres. Participants were given hands-on experience on how to identify signs of a weak battery and worn out wipers, change a flat tyre, check engine oil levels and most importantly, how to appropriately respond in the event of 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 Independence Day in a few days time, we hope that the ‘Heels & Wheels’ workshop can empower and inspire women drivers to take charge of their car care to give them peace of mind while driving”, said Pang Yoon Kong, Country Manager of Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia.
The workshop also featured cars and a talk about car safety technology 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.
The #BoschEmpowersWomen initiative is part of Bosch AA’s flagship car and road safety campaign ‘Drive for Life’ launched earlier in May this year, in line with the government’s agenda to reduce road accidents in the country.
