The grave consequences of beating the red light
THIS is a joke I read a while back. It was made popular by stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author George Carlin.
A cabbie sped through a red light.
The passenger asked, “Why did you do that?”
The driver said, “Never mind, my brother drives like this.”
Further up the road, the cabbie ran another red light.
The passenger, who was livid by then, asked, “What are you doing? You could get us killed!”
The cabbie replied, “Don’t worry, my brother does this all the time.”
When they came to a green light, the cabbie slammed on the brakes.
“That is a green light,” the passenger pointed out. “Why are you stopping?”
“Well, my brother could be coming the other way,” the cabbie responded.
This joke may be funny but running a red light is no laughing matter.
Earlier this week, a motorcyclist in Penang defied the red light at a pedestrian crossing and rammed into a woman. The motorcyclist sped away without stopping. The woman later died at the hospital from severe head injuries. The motorcyclist was arrested while seeking treatment for his injuries sustained in the accident.
No matter how rushed we are for time, stopping at a red light is imperative. Being delayed a minute or two is nothing compared to having to spend time in prison for killing a pedestrian. If only the motorcyclist had thought about the consequences of his rash action, he would not be in this trouble and a life would not have been needlessly taken away.
I exercise extreme caution when using pedestrian crossings. Being low to the ground in my wheelchair, I am not very visible, particularly to lane splitting motorcyclists. I have heard enough first- hand stories of motorcycles crashing into wheelchair users crossing the road to know the risks are real and serious.
Ignoring the red light is common with motorcyclists. There was an incident in Selangor last month where a motorcyclist crossed the junction before the light turned green. A car crashed into the motorcycle. The impact flung the motorcyclist across the road. Fortunately, he escaped with a few broken teeth and minor injuries to the face only.
The purpose of this article is not to malign motorcyclists in general. The majority are law- abiding. Likewise, there are good and bad motorists. It is those few who habitually break the law who put the lives of other road users in danger.
When at the traffic lights, I always remember the “threesecond rule” my driving instructor imparted to me. One should wait for three seconds after the light turned green before proceeding. This is to avoid collision with cross traffic drivers who decide to jump the red light.
This advice makes a lot of sense. Some motorists see the yellow light as an indication to step on the accelerator. They may get away 10 or 20 times but all that is needed is just one instance for an accident to happen that could cost them and other innocent road users dearly.
Red light beaters will not get away so easily with the implementation of the new demerit point system ( Kejara) to be introduced by the Road Transport Department ( JPJ) beginning next week. This is a welcome move to reduce recklessness on the road. The system will initially cover the offences of speeding and running the red light.
The penalty is incremental. Motorists racking up 20 points will receive a warning. Those hitting the next 20 points will have their license suspended between six and 12 months. Three suspensions or more within a period of five years will result in the revocation of the license. Hopefully, this will make road users more conscientious and think twice before they break any traffic rule.
There is also an incentive for good behaviour. The demerit points will be reduced by half if no demerit offence is committed in one year. The slate will be wiped clean if no offence is committed in two consecutive years.
Seeing the way some drivers and motorcyclists behave on the road, I wish more offences are included into the system, especially drivers caught using a smartphone while driving. It defies logic how they think they can pay attention to the traffic and use the phone at the same time.
However, there is only so much the demerit system and legislation can do. People will not break the law if they know they will be caught and get penalised for it. If they think they can escape from punishment, they will still do it. A simple case in point are vehicles illegally parked in no parking zones when no enforcement officers are around.
Another example is speeding. I drive regularly from Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh on the North South Expressway. I frequently get overtaken by vehicles going well above the speed limit. No matter how fast these vehicles were going, all would slow down dramatically upon approaching an automated enforcement system camera and speed up again after passing it.
This is what the law does. It prevents people from breaking it even though they do not subscribe to the ideals and intention. In the long run, it is better to promote respecting traffic rules as the right thing to do rather than something that is forced upon, and that respecting the rights and safety of other road users is also respecting oneself.
The victim in the hit- and- run accident in Penang may be a faceless person we read about in the news but she is also a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and friend to her family and people who knew her. She is gone now and even the stiffest penalties against the perpetrator will not bring her back.
Therefore, it would be good to remind ourselves not to be reckless on the road because the person we get into an accident with may be someone we love or someone we know. The roads do not belong to our grandfathers. They are shared facilities and should be used as such, with courtesy and responsibility.