PETALING JAYA: Respect for traffic laws is slowly eroding, especially among youths, said Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
Questioning the lack of moral values among offenders, mainly motorcyclists, who ignore traffic rules and regulations, Lee asked whether schools had failed to educate students on the importance of road safety.
“At any traffic lights, motorcyclists can be seen beating the red lights. It is not just one or two, but a big number of them do it,” Lee said.
“The worst part is that this uncaring act is not only carried out by youths but also by those in other age groups. They do not seem to be bothered about the safety or the dangers they pose to other road users.
“Motorcyclists could also be seen using public walkways to avoid traffic, and some would ride the wrong way. To put it bluntly, they just ‘don’t care’. There are no other words to explain such behaviour.”
Lee said food delivery riders are also adding to the problem.
“The companies involved pay their riders based on the number of deliveries made, encouraging them to break traffic rules while making deliveries to earn higher income.
“It is more like ‘lip service’ when these companies said they place importance on following traffic laws.”
Lee said the government should “encourage” these companies to pay their riders a higher delivery rate. Riders might then follow the law as they need not have to rush their deliveries to earn more.
As of August 2021, for every 100 road deaths in Malaysia, 70 involved motorcyclists. This puts the country closer to replacing Thailand for having the world’s worst death rate for motorcycle users. A total of 89,953 motorcyclists died on Malaysia’s roads between 2001 and 2021.
Universiti Putra Malaysia Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Community Health Department Prof Dr Kulanthayan K.C. Mani said motorcyclists tend to ignore traffic lights because they think they could speed off without being caught.
“Pedestrian walkway is not a separate lane for motorcyclists to use during traffic jams. They should not encroach onto walkways and put people’s lives in danger,” Kulanthayan said.
“Motorcycles are only one-third the size of a car, and vehicle drivers might miss riders if they overtake from the blindside of a vehicle. Beating traffic lights can be fatal if any frontal crash occurs.”
Stressing that motorcyclists must be vigilant while on the road, Kulanthayan urged them to use the motorcycle lanes to prevent untoward incidents.