KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – With an average of 17 fatalities, mostly involving motorcyclists, recorded every day in Malaysia, road accidents constitute a serious challenge to the nation.
According to a recent news report, one death is recorded every 84 minutes in the country due to road accidents. Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department assistant director Supt Dr Bakri Zainal Abidin was quoted as saying that about 12 road accident deaths were recorded daily during the earlier part of the pandemic, compared with 17 per day in 2019.
However, the number has started rising again following the easing of movement controls since October last year, he said.
Statistics also show that Malaysia’s road fatality index is among the highest in the world. In 2015, for example, 2.55 deaths were recorded for every 10,000 vehicles registered in this country. In comparison, developed nations like the United Kingdom and Australia recorded less than two deaths for every 10,000 vehicles registered there.
In Malaysia, road accidents are caused by various factors, among them being drug and alcohol use, lack of driving skills, risk-taking behaviour and excessive speed.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak, who is deputy director of the Malaysia Institute of Transport at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, said the road fatality issue can be mitigated if motorcyclists and drivers of both heavy and light vehicles improve their riding or driving skills by learning defensive driving techniques.
She said defensive driving comprises a set of driving skills that allows drivers to defend themselves against possible dangerous collisions caused by bad drivers, poor weather conditions or unavoidable obstructions on the road.
“The concept of defensive driving and safe driving is an important aspect of driving. The basic knowledge of defensive driving should be acquired as early as the time of training at a driving institute for the purpose of obtaining a driving licence.
“There are many institutions, training centres and private companies offering defensive driving training according to the level of needs of drivers in Malaysia and sometimes according to the scope of their work. So there is no reason for Malaysians to say they did not get the initial exposure and relevant training related to defensive driving,” said Siti Zaharah, who is also a senior lecturer at the School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, UiTM Shah Alam.
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
According to Siti Zaharah, the assumption by drivers that accidents only happen to other people and not to them is one of the grave mistakes they make and the reason why road accidents and fatalities continue to remain high.
She said it has been proven that human behaviour factors contribute to more than 80 percent of road accidents and fatalities, followed by road and environmental factors, and vehicle factors.
“This is why it’s important to learn basic defensive driving techniques as early as possible… they are life-saving tools that can help a driver when facing any risk while driving on the road. Defensive driving makes them more vigilant and increases their self-awareness as well which are important since accidents are difficult to predict,” she said.
Defensive driving is also closely linked to traffic law compliance and ethical driving, she said, adding that simple defensive driving information or tips can even be found online.
Siti Zaharah said if drivers are to combine defensive driving techniques with national speed limit compliance – in Malaysia, the principal speed limit is 90km/h on federal roads and 110km/h on highways – then the severity of an accident, if it cannot be avoided, can be reduced by a great margin.
“One of the (defensive driving) techniques that can be applied is ensuring a safe distance between vehicles. The rule is that a driver should ideally stay at least two seconds behind the vehicle in front of them. This will allow the driver to brake and stop safely without hitting the vehicle in front.
“As for motorcyclists, using the proper braking technique will enable them to stop safely whenever they see an obstruction,” she explained, adding that defensive driving is the key to realising the Malaysian government’s vision of reducing the nation’s fatality rate due to road accidents by least 50 percent by 2030.
VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
Siti Zaharah also pointed out that other than safe driving skills, the latest vehicle technology can substantially reduce the severity of the impact when an accident occurs.
“The New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) star rating provides information to users on the safety level of a vehicle. Vehicles with a five-star rating have the highest safety features because they are equipped with active and passive vehicle technology that meets the entire protocol of the vehicle safety evaluation criteria,” she said.
Meanwhile, several driving academies nationwide provide defensive driving courses for motorcycle riders and drivers of light and heavy vehicles. Among them is CERT Academy in Puchong, Selangor, which offers a full-day course where participants are exposed to various modules related to prudent driving.
CERT Academy trainer Rajap Japar said audio-visual aids, actual photographs of road accidents, and video and multimedia clips are used during the course.
“The participants are taught safe driving techniques, safe stopping techniques, observation techniques, wearing of personal protective equipment, emergency management, hazard identification and risk assessment.
“They will also be able to develop a correct and systematic approach to minimising risk in the driving environment. They can also understand how the car system operates which will provide them with a better understanding of their own vehicles.
“When drivers have knowledge of safe driving, it will enable them to prevent an accident from occurring or, at least, reduce its severity if the accident is unavoidable,” he said, adding that drivers should take a refresher course in defensive driving at least once a year.
Sources: BERNAMA