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KUALA LUMPUR – 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 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.
Siti Zaharah Ishak, deputy director of the Malaysia Institute of Transport at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, said road fatalities 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 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 and safe driving is an important aspect of driving. 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.
“Many institutions, training centres, and private companies offer defensive driving training according to the needs of drivers in Malaysia and sometimes according to the scope of their work. So there is no reason for Malaysians to say they have not received 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 in UiTM Shah Alam.
According to Siti Zaharah, the assumption that accidents only happen to others is a grave mistake drivers make and the reason why road accidents and fatalities continue to remain high.
She said it has been proven that human behavioural factors contribute to more than 80% of road accidents and fatalities, followed by road and environmental factors and vehicular factors.
“This is why it is important to learn basic defensive driving techniques as early as possible. They are life-saving tools that can help a driver in facing any risk driving on the road.
“Defensive driving makes them more vigilant and increases their self-awareness as well, which is 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 be found online.
Siti Zaharah said if drivers combine defensive driving techniques with national speed limit compliance – the principal speed limit in Malaysia being 90km/h on federal roads and 110km/h on highways – then the severity of an accident, if unavoidable, 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 proper braking technique will enable them to stop safely whenever they see an obstruction,” she said, 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 at least 50% by 2030.
Siti Zaharah also pointed out that other than safe driving skills, the latest vehicle technologies can substantially reduce the severity of the impact when an accident occurs.
“The New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries star rating provides users information 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 technologies that meet 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 that exposes participants to various modules related to prudent driving.
CERT Academy trainer Rajap Japar said audiovisual aids, actual photographs of road accidents, and video clips are used during the course.
“The participants are taught safe driving, safe stopping, and observational techniques; how to wear 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’s system operates, which will provide them a better understanding of their own vehicles.
“Knowledge of safe driving will enable drivers to prevent accidents from occurring, or at least to reduce their severity if they are unavoidable,” he said, adding that drivers should take a refresher course in defensive driving at least once a year. – Bernama, February 7, 2022