Less talk, more action on safety

I REFER to the news report on the Transport Minister commenting that the Road Transport Act need to be amended to ensure that drivers responsible for causing fatal crashes are banned from driving for life. I think it is natural to be angry when tragic deaths on our roads have been occurring far too often.

But I really wish that we would indulge less in knee-jerk reactions and look for long-term measures that can create greater awareness on road safety and induce a change in habit.

It is quite useless to call for a thorough audit of the vehicles and drivers after a major accident has happened. Why tell us that the truck or bus driver was on drugs or had been working continuously for more than 12 hours after the fact? In two or three weeks, we will forget and the cycle will repeat itself.

I wonder why we can’t view our expressways today as war zones. We have express buses overtaking at way above the speed limit displayed on the vehicles. We have overloaded lorries that can hardly move when on a slope. We have lorries and commercial vehicles that are in deplorable condition but are still plying our roads and highways. And, of course, we have cars routinely moving at Formula One speed.

I see this every time I use the highway and wonder why the authorities can’t. Sorry for being blunt but I think they must be blind or too corrupt to notice.

If we really want to change our habits on safety and responsibility, we should adopt measures and apply them consistently and relentlessly.

We have the technology, use it. We have the manpower, deploy them.

I have travelled a little in other parts of the world and I never fail to observe how others are doing on road safety.

In Europe, drivers of trucks and commercial vehicles must comply with driving hours and rest hours daily, weekly and fortnightly. They have tachometers attached to the vehicles that record everything to ensure compliance. Severe action would be taken on any violations, including suspension of driving licences.

In Russia, there are patrol cars stationed at intervals of about 50km to 70km along the major highways. Police presence alone is more than sufficient to ensure compliance by most drivers.

Surely it is worthwhile to learn and adopt some of these measures for our own good. For example, from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, we only need five or six patrol cars stationed along the expressway randomly to make a difference.

The working conditions and take-home pay of truck and bus drivers must also be improved. I think it is time to upgrade the profession and treat the drivers with respect.

T. K. CHUA Kuala Lumpur