Proton Extends Free Rear Centre Lap Belt Campaign Till End Of January

Proton has extended its ongoing Rear Centre Lap Belt Campaign, a free rear centre lap belt installation service, till the end of January. The free campaign started back in June 2008, when the Malaysian government announced a ruling making it compulsory for all cars to be fitted with a rear centre lap belt from the start of 2012—or risk getting fined.

January 1st may have come and gone, but only about 17 percent out of the 225,930 affected Proton cars—all either Saga LMST or Gen2 models built between 2004 and 2008—have been installed with a rear centre lap belt. This poor response is despite Proton Mobile Teams—eight teams of four technical personnel each—carrying out roadshows at selected areas since September, and visiting used car outlets and high-traffic locations such as hypermarkets and petrol stations in Klang Valley from the beginning of December.

Proton cited global research to emphasize the importance of rear lap belts, the use of which reduces the risk of head and abdominal injuries in potentially fatal frontal crashes by 47 percent and 52 percent, respectively. Moreover, having your rear lap belt secured improves your chance of survival by 32 percent compared with if you are unrestrained. And what's worse, rear passengers who do not belt up increase the fatality risk of those in front by almost five times.