Becoming alert road users
EVERYDAY, we lose 19 lives to road accidents.
The highest number of deaths involve youngsters aged between 16 and 25.
To reduce the rate of injuries and deaths resulting from accidents, the Transport Ministry has introduced several initiatives, one of it being the road safety module (PKJR) in primary and lower secondary schools.
“We have revised this module to make it more interactive, and amended it in terms of its learning content and graphic illustration.
“The main objective of the module is to improve knowledge and awareness on road safety among schoolchildren.
“Students are taught in stages from Years One to Six, where they are introduced to traffic signals, road infrastructure, how to cross safely and other information which will help them become alert road users,” Transport Minister Anthony Loke said during the launch of the revised module for primary schools.
The PKJR has been taught in primary schools since 2007 and in lower secondary schools since 2012.
The ministry, Loke said, received an allocation in the 11th Malaysia Plan budget to review the module’s content, in line with the Primary School Standard-based Curriculum (KSSR) and Secondary School Standard-based Curriculum (KSSM).
“The module is taught in the Bahasa Melayu (BM) subject in schools.
“Almost 15,000 BM teachers in primary schools were given guidance on the module last year, and primary schools have been using this version since January this year,” he added.
“We are focusing on more courteous and thoughtful culture on the road, towards creating safer road users,” he added.
The ministry’s other efforts to raise awareness on road safety include advocacy programmes, research and stricter enforcement.
Accidents and deaths resulting from them have reached a critical and alarming stage, Loke said.
Although last year recorded a drop of 6.8% from 2017, he said socio-economically, the country loses more than RM9bil each year.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik advised students to practise three main positive road attitudes.
“Be patient, considerate and think before you act.
“What is taught in the module are laws to abide by, but these values are equally important to have,” he said.
Dr Maszlee said the module was taught over two hours a month.