The traffic accident will be remained the same or even going worse in future if our government does not address it from the system perspective.
What I mean system? I list down a few significant ones for quick discussion.
1. Road safety and ethics education.
Most Malaysian drivers disregard the basic civility when they are behind the wheel is a talking point known to locals and foreigners.
Public education starting from the primary school is a critical component on reducing road accident rate. There is a success story in public education and awareness campaign on 999 emergency line prank call which has reduced its percentage to 1% from 97.9% in four years.
2. Policing and fine system.
>> Discounts for summonses is giving out a wrong message and indirectly encourages our drivers to break traffic rules. I believe no country in the world is giving discount for summons except Malaysia. Besides, Penang PR government also set a bad precedent by canceling all local council summonses committed before 8 March 2008. The rule of law is simply not observed by our governments.
>> Poor policing on point demerit system due to corruption and poor efficiency in the public sector.
For instance, JPJ failed my motorbike license test for 5 times because I refused to pay “duit kopi”.
3. Driver Licensing
>> Malaysia driving test is too lenient and plagued with under table license syndicate has churned out a huge number of unqualified drivers. This group is prone to road accident due to lack of driving skill and hands-on experience.
4. Road infrastructure and car roadworthiness
>> Potholes on the road, bumpy road, poorly designed road, confusing road signs, bad condition vehicles, etc. are common sights in Bolehland.
5. Driver attitude and discipline.
>> Drunk driving is one of the main causes of road accidents.
>> Calling and texting SMS with handphone while driving is another journey to dead.
I did involve in a road accident in Ipoh for slow response to a red light in a T-junction. My eyesight was bad after using CRT monitor for too long. I scrapped my CRT monitor after the accident.
My postmortem analysis on this accident says my driving attitude (factor 1), eye sight (factor 5) and three junctions too close to each others (factor 4) are the causes.
Police operations like Operasi Sikap during the festival exodus only help a little on traffic accident mitigation without holistic solutions for above mentioned system fallacies. I let the government and enforcement agencies to come out appropriate action plans to improve the road transport system.
BN government does not need to pay RM70 million to hire McKinsey consultants on how to reduce road accidents. My 15-minute write-up will address the root causes of high accident rate in Bolehland.
Reverse psychology used in Ops Sikap to reduce accidents during festive period
PETALING JAYA: Motorists returning to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year holidays may be surprised to see signs urging them to speed.
But that is just half of the message on signboards to be placed at “black spots” and strategic locations along highways which reads: Pandu Laju, Maut Menunggu (Drive Fast, Death Awaits).
Reverse psychology is the latest strategy used in Ops Sikap to reduce accidents during festive seasons when traffic on trunk roads is much heavier than usual.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, who launched Ops Sikap 25 in Subang yesterday, said that 97 accident-prone areas had been identified.
Police teams will be stationed there throughout the campaign ending on Jan 30 to ensure safe driving and to help traffic flow.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, meanwhile, urged the public to use public transport when returning to their hometowns.
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