Quick look:
- Volvo’s global leadership in automotive safety goes right back to its earliest days when its founders made safety a cornerstone of the company.
- The ‘Selamat Calculator’ is a self-assessment tool which generates a safety risk profile alongside an estimate of the financial and emotional impact left behind.
Safety is a cornerstone of Volvo; in fact, when Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson started the company in Sweden in 1927, they declared: “Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain, safety.”
While their determination to make cars that were safe, reliable and durable was largely for the harsh Scandinavian climate, safety would become synonymous with Volvo when the cars began to appear in many markets overseas, including Malaysia.
Global leader in auto safety
Advertising taglines like ‘Buy it for Safety, Drive it for Pleasure’ constantly emphasised that important aspect for motorists. And the cars were always very safe too (though in the 1970s, they were seen as being built like tanks), establishing Volvo as the global leader in automotive safety.
Impressively, Volvo’s pursuit of safety has not diminished in nearly 100 years, while also giving attention to important issues such as the environment. Volvo Car Malaysia has also upheld the pursuit and promotion of safety and one of several educational initiatives of its ‘Selamat’ campaign is the ‘Selamat Calculator’. This is an interactive reflection exercise to drive home the weight of one’s absence and everything it carries. The value of cars, homes, investments is often carefully measured, yet the true cost of absence is rarely considered.
The Selamat Calculator
The Selamat Calculator (developed in partnership with Mr Money TV) turns an unimaginable possibility into a tangible reflection. It asks the difficult question: “What happens if you never say, or receive, another ‘Selamat’ again?”
Through a series of questions (at an online website) covering age, career, income, dependants, lifestyle, and personal stakes, the experience generates a safety risk profile alongside an estimate of the financial and emotional impact left behind, from transferred financial burdens and interrupted progress to futures left unrealised.
The self-assessment experience serves as a reminder that the consequences of inattention, complacency, and inaction are not measured only in a split second, but in the unlived moments, unfinished futures, and people we stand to lose if one day we do not make it home.
Don’t take safety for granted
“Nothing is worth more than your life, but there are still times when we forget and take our safety for granted – drivers are humans after all. The Selamat Calculator isn’t meant to put a price on a life, but to act as a gentle reminder to appreciate the value of our presence and what stands to be lost in our absence. Because the true value of our Selamat isn’t measured by wealth but in the people we hold close and the accomplishments we make,” said Patricia Yaw, Sales & Marketing Director of Volvo Car Malaysia.
“Selamat is in Volvo’s DNA and every Malaysian’s spirit. In every ‘Selamat’ we say, there’s a quiet wish that our loved ones arrive, live and return safely. Volvo carries the same hope that those around us are protected wherever they go, so that they can live for the moments that matter. We want to be part of the moment that matters most: the journey home,” Ms Yaw added.
