Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, a traffic engineering lecturer at the School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, called on the authorities to enforce traffic rules to stop bad habits and reduce the number of road deaths. The Sun Daily was reported.
The matter is urgent given that in August 2021, 70 out of every 100 road deaths in Malaysia were motorcyclists, Ahmad Farhan said.
“Unlicensed motorcyclists in the country learn bad habits from childhood when parents allow them to ride their bikes in housing estates and villages. Even enforcement officers smile when they see children riding horses in their housing estates. The fact that they don’t do anything encourages them to do whatever they want,” he said.
Motorcyclists follow the rules only to get a license, and after that they ignore them and do not follow them in everyday life, which is the root cause of the high accident rate, The Sun Daily quoted Ahmad Farhan.
Universiti Putra Malaysia Road Safety Research Center head Law Teik Hua said motorcyclists can easily beat traffic lights because motorcycles can usually accelerate quickly and the lack of enforcement allows them to make rash decisions, such as running red lights.
“Increasing enforcement will force motorcyclists to follow the rules of the road, and as more do, it will make it more difficult for others to break the law. Road safety education needs to be stepped up and young children need to learn the dangers they face if they continue to ignore the rules,” Law said.
According to the head of the UPM Road Safety Research Center, enforcers can use the latest technology to make motorcyclists aware that they are being watched and can pull them over at any time for a traffic violation.
Law said that while there are motorcycle-specific lanes on highways, most motorcyclists prefer to use the main roads because they are newer and well-built, while the motorcycle lanes are more than 40 years old. The Sun Daily quoted him.
“The government needs to actively start building more segregated motorcycle lanes and warn bikers to use them or face the consequences,” Law said.
