KUALA LUMPUR: PLUS Malaysia Bhd (PLUS) has won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, becoming the first Asian highway company to receive an international award involving highway safety.
The award was presented by Prince Michael of Kent to PLUS managing director Datuk Azman Ismail on Dec 10 as recognition for PLUS’ success in implementing various safety initiatives along the 1,134.1 km highway in Peninsular Malaysia.
Azman said the award proves that PLUS is recognised as a world-class highway builder which complies with high safety standards at the international level. “This confirms that PLUS is an organisation that places priority and stress on the safety aspects,” he said in a statement.
PLUS was among the 23 recipients of the award from 70 companies from throughout the world feted at the event attended by more than 350 international road safety experts and professionals.
As the largest highway operating company in Malaysia that provides services to more than 1.7 million users every day and with 3,000 highway workers, PLUS adopted the 3E approach – engineering, enforcement and education – in handling road safety since 2017.
In terms of education, PLUS collaborated with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and introduced the Expressway Operations Safety Passport (EOSP).
“Shortly after its implementation, EOSP had contributed to a reduction in fatalities of workers and contractors working on the highway by 75%,” according to the statement.
The Prince Michael Award is one of the main supporters of highway safety and promotes the Decade of Action of the United Nations, an international programme that has saved millions of lives by encouraging good safety practices.
Since 1987, the award has recognised those who had contributed towards improving road safety throughout Britain. Now, the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards gives recognition to extraordinary achievements and innovations throughout the world where the most outstanding road safety initiative is given recognition. – Bernama
