Reading the various press reports on road accidents in the country, one would conclude that our existing laws are woefully inadequate to combat the scrounge of errant drivers and that we now have to resort to drastic measure such as the on-the-spot fines, confiscating driving licences and limiting renewals to a yearly basis.

Yet, as far as I am aware, we still have a demerit system and there are still provisions to haul those who ignore summonses to court. Besides, road taxes can't be paid renewed if there are outstanding summonses.

But how many of us have, or know of friends who have either had their licenses suspended as a result of the demerit system or hauled up to court for not responding to traffic summonses? Can the authorities provide some statistics on this?

Why, as has been reported, has action not been taken for summonses issued to bus drivers since as far back as 1999? Is the problem really one of inadequate laws and poor enforcement?

Earlier this year, I visited Melbourne for the first time and had a car to drive around. I was a bit surprised that the speed limit on highways was lower than (100km/hr) than ours but what was even more surprising was that 99 percent of drivers kept to the speed limit.

I was really pressed to find one driver on the highway, including on the fast lane, who was exceeding the 100km/hr limit and even if they were, it was marginal. Likewise in the city centre, everyone kept to the 50km/hr speed limit.

I asked my friend whom I was staying with why this was so. Coincidentally, his son was due to attend court the next day for speeding and they were resigned to the fact that his driving licence would be suspended, which apparently, is mandatory for excessive speeding.

My friend's reply was that Australian police tend to be very zealous when enforcing the speed limit and that there are hidden camera's all over the place. You can get a ticket if you are 1 km/hr over the speed limit. This has resulted in healthy revenue for the local government. People complain, but by and large, they have accepted this, he said.

I do not think our traffic laws are inadequate and as far as I can see, they are comparable with developed countries. But yet our drivers do not seem to be deterred. Indeed, if they know they are unlikely to be prosecuted, then there is even less fear.

On-the-spot fines are not new; drivers have always paid on the spot 'fines' though the fines do not always end up in the public coffers. Besides, what is RM300 today?

The real risk of having one's driving licence suspended however, is another matter. Does it take a genius to see the real problem?