Current issues, feedback & complaints on public services in Malaysia
YOUR front page story (”363,000 road accidents last year, 5,670 deaths” — NST Jan 7) filled me with horror. Why so many senseless deaths?
A country with a roughly comparable population, Australia, had in 2006, the most recent year for which reliable data is available, 1,601 deaths on the roads, compared with Malaysia’s figures of 5,720 for the same year.
This is insane. Australian roads are arguably more difficult to drive on because of the enormous distances, and the monotony. Malaysian roads are brilliant in comparison.
I offer some observations based on 30 years of visiting and living in this country.
- Primarily, Malaysian drivers have to eliminate the me mentality. Why is it that some of the most charming and generous people in the world turn into maniacs, hellbent on getting there first, when behind the wheel of a car?
- There is also the question of seatbelts, both front and back. More importantly, legislation should require that all children be restrained, either in baby capsules, or car seats, or, if older, in seat belts.
Ideally, they should not travel squashed between parents on motorcycles, but I realise this is a difficult problem.
- Mobile phones should be banned while driving.
- Lane discipline is appalling. White lines appear to mean nothing, even double white lines.
- Traffic lights apparently are there to be challenged and indicators are merely decorations on the dashboard.
Finally, so many columnists, and journalists seem to treat Malaysian driving as an idiosyncratic side of life here. The problem is, it’s a matter of death.
ANN WRAY, Kuching
Source: NST – January 10, 2008
One response to “Road deaths: When otherwise nice people become maniacs”
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gary lee
January 24th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
the sad thing is, all the relevant traffic laws are in place and are off international standards. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure the lack of enforcement is one of the main reasons for it. A good example I saw recently is a car driving in front of a police patrol car. At the last minute, that car made a sudden turn into a junction and without indicating as well. The police car just continued to drive on his own way. In my experiences driving in Australia, if one were to do that, you would expect to get pulled over by the police officer immediately, who by the way, might not give you a ticket, but a long lecture on why you should use your indicators instead.
Proper education for drivers/riders is also a key point, and given by dedicated and professional trainers. It’s common to sometimes see driving instructors driving their L-plated cars, carrying his students and himself not driving to the standards expected of his students.