After numerous years of living abroad in US, I came back to Malaysia only to be confronted with daily news of grotesque road accidents especially during festive seasons. The mostly unnecessary loss of lives on our highways has long gone unnoticed.

Year after year, statistics has proven that the fatalities are increasing. Road accident is the No1 killer right after coronary disease. Malaysia has been in the Hall of Fame for being one of the countries with the highest fatality index (fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles) on the road.

In our land with a population of 22 million, the road fatalities index was 8.4 in 1996 compared to 2.1 and 1.3 for US and Japan respectively and the total fatality for that year was 6,304; one would expect more stringent measures and policies regarding road safety.

In another associated report, Malaysia is reported to have the highest fatality risk in the world at 31 (deaths/100,000 population). Commonly, insecurity is the feeling while driving on Malaysian roads as we share the highways with DUIs (driver-under-influence), vehicles with inferior safety standards, road bullies, teenage drivers, unscrupulous tow truck operators, trigger-happy enforcement officers etc.

Heightened enforcement operations in the past few years (e.g. Ops Statik series), has managed to reduce the human factors in road accidents, an insignificant portion of the projected 30 percent back in 1998.

Plainly said, the average law-abiding Malaysian driver is exposed to many unnecessary and undesirable risks, thanks to non-existent or dormant vital safety policies and procedures. In the US, every vehicle being introduced into the market is subjected to independent IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) tests and subsequently rated to ensure drivers' safety and vehicles' crash-worthiness.

The institute's research focuses on countermeasures aimed at all three factors in motor vehicle crashes (human, vehicular, and environmental) and on interventions that can occur before, during, and after crashes to reduce losses.

Since the 1960's, scientific approaches were adopted in advocating crash prevention, which saw the advent and introduction of safety apparatuses such as safety belts and air bags. Prior to the 1960's, the focus was on crash prevention, blaming human attitude as the major factor.

Thus, many lifesaving vehicle characteristics were not in place at that time. By introducing a body such as this in Malaysia (and a crash test center), a more scientific approach can be culminated to tackle issues involving crash avoidance and crash-worthiness, human factor and the driving environment.

Such strictly adhering regulatory bodies play a very vital role in ensuring vehicle safety levels to protect the consumers' interest. Crash test results are accessible to public to evaluate the safety standards of individual vehicles.

Generally, the IIHS benefits from the standards imposed, as insurance liability of the association on the whole will indirectly decrease, by filtering out below par vehicles in terms of safety. Hence, both the insurance companies as well as the consumer inherit mutual benefit.

The nonchalant Malaysian government's policy of imposing hefty tax upon foreign cars with more sound safety standards in the justification (pretext?) of protecting our local car manufacturer, the national car initiative, Proton and Perodua, indirectly catapulted the local car sales.

Now, the roads are populated by mostly inferior (compared to foreign makes) locally manufactured (which lack basic safety standards) cars as well as old vehicles (more than 15 years) with obsolete safety standards (and technology), which could jeopardise lives in the event of collisions or road accidents. Perhaps, this policy is a case of indirect endangerment to public safety.

The following comments are suggestions to improve road safety in Malaysia:

  • Impose DUI laws strictly. Our roads need to be 100 percent rid of DUIs. Indirectly, the enforcement of curbing liquor sales to patrons below the age of 21 years should be stepped up. ID requirement for purchase of liquor should be enforced strictly. At current state, lax enforcement enables under-aged individuals easy access to alcohol beverages.

  • Establishment of a Vehicle Research Center. Mandatory crash test (such as frontal offset and side impact crash tests) should be conducted for all new vehicles seeking market introduction. The results should be independent, transparent and accessible to the public. Piam (Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia) should spearhead the establishment of such a centre. The centre should be uniquely positioned to influence highway safety issues because the interest of insurers in reducing highway losses coincides with the public interest.

  • Mandatory safety features such as dual frontal airbags, front, rear and side impact reinforcement, etc. must be introduced.

  • More grants and research funds should be made available for traffic safety studies and research. Currently, there is a lack of prime research centres for road and vehicle safety in the country.

  • Pass laws to regulate the operations and pricing tariff for tow truck operators so there is healthy but limited business rivalry. There are public 'opinions' that some unscrupulous operators rig the roads to gain profitability.

  • Curb graft/corruption acts by patrol enforcement officers by implementation of strict work policies or SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for better clarity and transparency for both the defendant and the enforcement authorities.

    • This includes, installation of video cameras and on-line access of traffic database in patrol cars. This needs to be done to curb current 'loop-holes' that allow 'paying' traffic offenders to escape impending persecution and eventual ban from the road.

  • Yearly assessment of vehicle road-worthiness conducted jointly by insurance companies and the road transport department for a minimum fee. The issuance of road-tax discs depends upon the outcome of the yearly inspection. This will weed out non road-worthy vehicles.

  • Abolishment of indifferent taxation on foreign imported vehicles. Hopefully, with Malaysia's participation in Afta (Asia Free Trade Agreement), the abolishment of this taxation policy will allow consumers to have a wider range of choices of highly-rated vehicles in terms of safety.

  • Channeling a portion of the traffic violation fines for research purposes and emergency medical services. In US, a traffic citation will include mandatory contributions to the Emergency Assistance Fund (EMS — Emergency Medical Services Act) and the Catastrophic Loss Benefits Continuation Fund. Offensive drivers have to partake a fraction of the cost to run the research centers as a retribution of their deeds.

    • Various bodies such as Fomca, insurance companies, enforcement authorities, and universities undertaking road safety research need to play a more active and catalytic role in organising more road safety forums involving the general public opinion.

    From what I have experienced in US, there is more consciousness and awareness of road safety regulations. Drivers are more apt and articulate as driving tests are more stringent and enforcement of traffic laws is stricter. This in turn, indirectly, makes their roads safer for all users. Perhaps, someday, not too distant in the future, we will be able to achieve safer roads.

    Some of the statistics mentioned are gleaned from , and various sources including Escap 1996, Quality of Roads in Malaysia — Highway Planning Unit, Aug 29, 1998 and Estimating Global Road Fatalities by G Jacobs, A Aeron-Thomas & A Astrop, (Transport Research Laboratory, London) 2000.