LETTER | Of late, there have been too many traffic accidents that have stirred up the conscience of the nation, especially when a large number of people have been killed in the mishaps or when an entire family dies in an accident.

With a tremendous increase in the number of vehicles and the expansion of road networks and highways, there will be a tendency for vehicular accidents and collisions to increase unless strict and effective methods to ensure greater safety are set in place.

A committee for vehicular and road safety comprising vehicle manufacturers, the Transport Ministry, Road Transport Department, commercial vehicle operators’ associations, the Malaysian Highway Authority, the Works Ministry and Works Department, Puspakom, Miros, and safety NGOs such as Lee Lam Thye’s Alliance for a Safe Community should be formed under the aegis of Transport Minister Anthony Loke to consider ways and means to enhance safety and reduce traffic accidents.

The committee’s decisions must be authoritative and mandatory, and should be implemented urgently by the government. 

Road safety encompasses a wide range of issues, starting from road conditions, licensing, vehicular inspections, enforcement, and many others.

New safety measures and traffic rules need to be formulated to cope with the increasing incidences of accidents that cause injury or death and adding to the medical costs and loss to the economy.

With about 6,000 deaths from traffic accidents occurring yearly, the cost to the country could run into the billions, something a nation with a small population of about 33 million people can ill afford.

One of the issues that has been highlighted for quite some time is the high numbers of traffic summonses issued and remaining unpaid.

Summonses concerning commercial vehicles should be sent to the company whose registered postal address is displayed on the vehicle.

The traffic police and the RTD should send the summons to the companies involved. The companies should be more sensitive and responsible and look at summons in a negative light, apart from the fines involved, which are an additional cost to the company.

This way, possibly the issue of unpaid summonses could be overcome. It will have a deterrent effect on both the driver and the company.

Renewal of the registration or licence of the company can he withheld until the summonses are settled.

Recently, the Selangor government’s subsidiary, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad, was reported to have unsettled summonses numbering more than 10,000 as the drivers of the vehicles hid the summonses from the management, fearing deduction from their salaries.

Puspakom inspections have been plagued with allegations of corruption and ineffectiveness for a long time.

One often hears of tyres being changed after the inspection is over. This cannot be done if the tyre is partially painted during inspection to prevent this kind of deception.

Big commercial companies with a large number of lorries, trucks, buses, and other vehicles do this to cut costs and pass the inspection.

A form or checklist indicating the inspection date, the items checked, and the name of the person approving the inspection should be displayed on the windscreen or must be made available when needed by the enforcement authorities.

The checklist must have legal implications, and Puspakom or any testing authority should be called to provide evidence in an accident case that comes before the courts.

Inter-state buses as well as chartered buses should have the driver’s compartment sealed off as the noise from the loud music or the chatter and din from passengers can interfere, if not distract, the driver’s attention.

Sometimes, loud music or video can drive the drivers crazy and distract their focus from the road.

A closed driver’s compartment can prevent the loud din from entering the driver's cabin and also stop interference from the passengers. 

Road conditions also need to be improved to enhance safety. Over the last few years, there has been a drastic reduction in the number of roads being resurfaced or repaired, road marking repainted, streetlights repaired, and dangerously leaning trees being pruned, among others.

Nowadays, almost daily, one reads of accidents maiming or killing many people, and it is really sad to note how much the families will be burdened by the injuries and the deaths of their loved ones.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.