BMW Malaysia released #SafetyStartsWithYouvideo series

KUALA LUMPUR: BMW Group Malaysia recently released #SafetyStartsWithYou - a public service announcement video series. It is a part of the company's annual BMW Safety 360-degree Program. The videos are directed by Mallory Lee, the BMW Shorties Finalist, and feature 4-9 years old children.

A small child can actually remind an adult of many things that the person intentionally (or unintentionally) neglect and thus, face the dreadful consequences. This fact gets uniquely portrayed to promote safe driving habits by BMW Malaysia. According to a report published by WHO in 2013, Malaysia has the third-highest number of road-related deaths worldwide.

The video series consists of five 30-second videos. The children in the videos highlight a few basic, yet most ignored rules and etiquette to stay safe on the road. The children are seen encouraging adults to not use a mobile phone while driving, follow traffic rules, avoid reckless driving, use signal indicators, properly install and use child safety restraints, etc.

As per 2016 statistical records, around 7,152 people lost their lives in road accidents in Malaysia and a major percentage of this happened due to human error. Anthony Loke, Malaysia transport minister, said that as much as 6,740 people were registered to be mortally injured in 2017. Even though road fatalities could be controlled slightly, the road accidents recorded the previous year triggered by 2.4% to over 533,500. These statistic figures point out the fact that people are being really very negligent about their safety on the road.

Harald Hoelzl, the Managing Director and CEO of BMW Group Malaysia, expressed his concern over these deadly facts and figures, saying that the irresponsible behaviour of people on road causes maximum accidents and if small children know the basic rules, the adults too can keep that in mind and act accordingly on the road.

The director of the #SafetyStartsWithYou series, Mallory Lee, also directed the 2017 People’s Choice Award-winning short film “Gold! There’s Gold in the River” for BMW Shorties.