Deputy Transport Minister urged the public to keep fire extinguisher in their car.Read the full news from Bernama below.
KEEP FIRE EXTINGUISHER IN CAR.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 – Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew Wednesday urged the public to keep a portable fire extinguisher in their cars as part of safety measures in case of fire.
He said motor vehicle fires and fatalities due to car fires had have increased in recent years with 800 cases of car fires reported last year, which is equivelant to two cars fires a day.
“Car owners who are equipped with a car extinguisher as the ‘first line of fire defence’ can save lives and prevent injuries due to motor vehicle fires,” he said at the “One-Car-One-Extinguisher” Campaign here.
His speech was delivered by Road Safety Department (RSD) Director-General Datuk Suret Singh.
He said the campaign, jointly organised by the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) and Fire Prevention Council Malaysia (FICOP) in collaboration with the Transport Ministry, Road Safety Department, and Malaysian Road Safety Council, is aimed at creating awareness of car fire safety for motorists.
Lau also said that the awareness level among motorists of the importance of wearing seat belts was still very low, especially for rear passangers, as surveys showed that only 15 per cent complied with the rear seat belt ruling.
“This is serious matter as research shows that 350 lives can be saved annually if rear seat passengers buckle up,” he said.
Suret Singh told reporters later that he would not suggest to the goverment to make it compulsory for all cars to have fire extinguishers as it could burden the people.
He said that currently only public service vehicles and commercial vehicles like buses and trains were required to have fire extinguishers.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Statistics Department data showed that there are more than 11 million cars in Malaysia but more than 95 per cent are not equipped with fire extinguishers.
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