KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians have expressed their gratitude to PlusRonda personnel for their commitment in ensuring the safety of all Plus Highway users around the clock.
Despite having to face new challenges with the Covid-19 outbreak, PlusRonda continues to patrol the highways and assist its customers travelling during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Besides performing their usual duties, PlusRonda personnel also went beyond their call of duty by helping to stop numerous suicide attempts on the Penang Bridge.
Apart from that, among the memorable and special experiences for some personnel was helping to deliver a baby on the highway.
A unique experience shared by a Plus highway user, Nasrul Shah Rizzan Abdullah, was when PlusRonda personnel helped his wife deliver their first-born daughter on the emergency lane of the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) in January.
“My wife and I were on our way to Sungai Buloh Hospital after she complained of contractions. When we reached KM21 of the NKVE around noon, the situation became serious and luckily, we noticed a PlurRonda team assisting a lorry driver whose vehicle had broken down along the emergency lane.
“I immediately stopped by the roadside and asked for help. We are grateful to the PlusRonda personnel, Yusuf and Mohd Al-Amar, who helped safely deliver our daughter while waiting for the ambulance to arrive,” Nasrul told Plus Malaysia Berhad (Plus).
Another Plus highway user, S. Sivaraman, said people often only appreciated PlusRonda when they needed their services.
“You will not appreciate the PlusSRonda until your car breaks down along the highway,” Sivaraman told Plus.
Sivaraman recalled his experience with PlusRonda when his car had engine problems, forcing him to stop on the emergency lane.
He said he was travelling with friends when his car was stranded on the North-South Expressway near Ayer Keroh a few years back.
“Being stranded on the emergency lane is a terrifying experience because of the speed other vehicles are travelling. Imagine huge trailers and trucks zooming pass you just a few metres away.
“Luckily, I saved the Plus emergency hotline number on my mobile and immediately gave them a call. A PlusRonda team arrived some 30 minutes later.
“Upon arriving, one PlusRonda personnel immediately placed safety cones and waved the safety flag to alert other road users. The other personnel also assisted in the situation,” he said, adding that the personnel declined to accept any payment.
An Instagram account user “ekay_ekhuan”, who shared his experience with PlusRonda when he was stranded at KM425.9 while travelling from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur wrote:
“Car trouble at KM425.9 between Ipoh and KL. Called #PLUS. Help arrived 10 minutes later. Shared them my Retina Pelangi CD for their assistance. Thanks @plus_malaysia and their #PLUSRonda En Zuhairi and En Hakim for helping me to change my tyre.
Another Instgram user, “sepatahdua_my”, said his car tyre exploded on the Plus highway between Sungai Petani and Bertam while he was heading for dinner in Seberang Jaya, Penang and PlusRonda helped him change the tyre.
Besides the memorable experience with PlusRonda, Plus said there was also an unfortunate incident involving one of their personnel when he was killed while on duty.
It said PlusRonda personnel, Aziz Siraj, was knocked down by a Class 2 lorry while trying to remove some tyre fragments off the highway and succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Plus said to enhance the safety of their personnel on the highway, Plus introduced the use of Safety Vehicles (SVs).
“These SVs are operated by Edgenta Propel Berhad to perform traffic management work for highway maintenance or when there is an accident on the highway or foreign obstacles creating a hazard to road users.
“The SV will temporarily slow down or stop traffic and create a safe zone for highway personnel to conduct their work in a more secure and controlled environment,” it said.
It said in 2019, PlusRonda attended to a total 223,000 incidents such as vehicle breakdowns, traffic accidents, debris and obstacle removals and incidents involving stray animals on the highways.
It also said as of today, PlusRonda teams consisting of 574 personnel from the north to south including the East Coast Expressway 2.
Plus added that PlusRonda was the trademark of the Plus highway eco-system and is available 24-hours daily.