DURING the Covid-19 situation, the Health Ministry and public health practitioners executed their steps, actions and attempts to save people’s lives mostly based on statistics and occurrences.
However, over the years, I found that those related to the road safety fraternity, especially the establishment and authorities, have not taken actions according to statistics.
It is all plain to see from the statistics provided by the Royal Malaysian Police’s Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) (please see bottom), which category requires urgent attention and bold action from the authorities to curb the high death and crash rate.
But no, we allow motorcyclists travelling long distances, balik kampung for Raya, weekend convoys, commuting of more than 20km for work, underage school kids and unlicensed bikers roaming in kampung, towns, suburban and residential areas, and many more.
The result – high death and crash rates involving our future leaders, the young generation.
I am not saying it because I am against the bikers. I want to save their lives. I say it based on the facts presented, and the data compiled by JSPT over the years.
In fact, I like the motorcycle as a mode of transport for short distances, say within a 10km to 15km radius.
We must save their lives. But the thing is, local councils don’t provide them with special lanes, and public transport connectivity in urban areas and small towns have been borderline pathetic.
Now, let’s focus on the current situation.
During the Hari Raya balik kampung periods in the past, there were 23 or 24 deaths a day (on average). Out of that number, 17 or 18 fatalities were motorcycle users.
My sources at highway tolled concessionaires. including Plus Malaysia, told me that on average there were 15 or 16 deaths on expressways daily during the balik kampung period. From that figure, 11 or 12 deaths involved motorcycle users.
And what have the government and authorities been doing about it?
And why does the government keep doing the same campaign, applying the same approach when the outcome has been similar every year?
Micromobility vehicles
Another current hot topic – the banning of micro-mobility vehicles such as electric scooters on the roads.
Please correct me if I am wrong. As far as I know, based on the data that I have gathered over the years, I cannot find any road deaths involving e-scooter users. Maybe the data is not updated. If there is such information, please share it with me.
While I can understand the need for the Transport Ministry to intervene and save lives before tragedy occurs among electric scooter users, I wish that the establishment would engage the state and local councils and take real action based on statistics.
We know there were unfortunate incidents involving basikal lajak. Were there any big announcement against basikal lajak by the federal agency?
In my opinion, electric bicycles and e-scooters are the future to replace or eliminate the kapcai menace involving kids and teenagers. These are the right kind of transport for our future leaders. Slow, safe travelling speed, green and won’t be able to travel far unlike the kapcai.
This is the right type of vehicle for school kids and teenagers going to college or the pakcik and makcik to the wet market or supermarket nearby.
I don’t approve of electric scooters being used on the main roads with a speed limit of 60km/h and above. However, I support the call for electric scooters to be on sidewalks or special lanes or recreational spaces.
The thing is – how many dedicated lanes are there for bicycles and electric scooters in kampongs, residential estates or cities?
Even in my housing area, there’s only the shared space on the road less than 5km in length.
Reality
What we have is the high death rate involving motorcycle users, including many children and teens who are killed in the kampung and residential areas, for riding kapcai (low-powered) motorcycles.
Since 2009, more than 2,700 deaths were recorded among children in the age range of six to 15 years due to motorcycle riding.
It is said that the kapcai is the number one killing machine against children. And what have the government and authorities been doing about it?
Has there been any effort to shift our kids from using kapcai?
We can only see the absence of any drastic moves by the transport minister to cut the high death rate of motorcycling among kids and unlicensed teens.
The numbers are all plain to see, and yet today, actions are taken against micro mobility vehicles.
Yes, I am a supporter of micro-mobility to solve the “first-mile last-mile” issue that has been bugging us for many years to support the rail networks (LRT, MRT, KTM).
Suggestion
I would like to call on the Transport Ministry and Road Transport Department to set a proactive initiative such as providing guidelines on how to be safe when using micro-mobility vehicles.
Perhaps, the authorities can set a ruling such as helmets, bright safety vests, lights, and to ride on the left side of the road.
Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t support electric scooters to be on the main roads with high traffic, but I would like to call for leniency for electric scooters to be on secondary roads, which include residential areas connecting to their own parks and commercial townships.
After all, aren’t we supposed to reduce carbon emissions and aim for a low-carbon city?
I can highlight day and night about the mundane and unimaginative federal and state agencies on road safety and their sluggish mindset, but it won’t change a thing.
This is because the key stakeholders in the road safety circle – including those among the authorities, the Transport Ministry, the policy makers and Road Safety Council – fancy being mundane, refuse to communicate, choose not to be creative and are afraid to be bold, keep doing the same thing, with the same style and repeated approach, and are monotonous while expecting different results.
I leave you with the road deaths statistics of the pandemic era of years 2020 and 2021. – The Vibes, April 28, 2022
Shahrim Tamrin was on the board of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, whose aim is to foster better road safety interventions
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