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KUALA LUMPUR – Easing off the accelerator pedal could greatly reduce the risk of a fatal accident, a road safety specialist has said, as thousands of people take to the highways to “balik kampung” during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season.
Professor Kulanthayan K.C. Mani of Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Community Health Department, Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty said drivers stand a better chance of preventing accidents by simply slowing down.
“If you reduce the speed of your vehicle, it can be controlled better. When we control the vehicle, then there is less possibility of an accident occurring,” he told Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal.
“If there is an accident, just imagine – now, it happened at a lower speed than the initial speed, so the impact is less. At least we can avoid fatal accidents.”
Heavy traffic was reported at major highways along the peninsula as tens of thousands of people made their way back to their hometowns to celebrate Aidilfitri with their families for the first time in two years, after the government lifted strict Covid-19 protocols as part of Malaysia’s transition to endemicity.
Kulanthayan, who chairs the board of directors of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, explained that the average car would need a distance of about 27m to come to a full halt if a driver were forced to suddenly stop while travelling at a speed of 50km/h.
The stopping distance nearly doubles to 58m at speeds of 80km/h. In the event of a crash at 90km/h, the impact would be equivalent to falling from the 10th floor of a building, he said.
“That’s the impact. What are the probabilities of you surviving if you fall from that floor? The chances are definitely slim,” Kulanthayan said.
“It would most likely cause fatality,” he said, adding that drivers should maintain sufficient distance between cars to increase the chances of avoiding an accident, akin to how people have practised social distancing to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
Kulanthayan said commuters also need to prepare themselves physically and mentally for potentially long drives, and to take all necessary safety precautions, including that all passengers wear their seatbelts.
He stressed that the point of impact in an accident could happen at any angle of a car, and unrestrained passengers may end up suffering injuries compared to if they had buckled up, or even cause injuries to others.
“This reminder is specifically for rear passengers to buckle up. They must remember that if they are not belted, their bodies could move in the event of an accident. They could hit the front seat, dashboard, steering wheel or windshield,” Kulanthayan said.
“Although the driver and front passenger have been restrained, an unbelted rear passenger could put other passengers at risk. That is why it’s important for every driver to check their passengers.” – The Vibes, May 3, 2022