Too much food, movies I won't watch, and Siti Nurhaliza. Hey don't get me wrong, I love the girl to bits but when she is on every channel something's gotta give. Anyway I am still alive and Ops Sikap netted 209 deaths this year. I am passionate about this issue because except for a few accidents most of them are senseless and unnecessary. Driving is an everyday event for most of us and when sitting in your car is a game of Russian roulette something is very wrong. We could do better yet we beckon insanity by repeating the same Ops Sikap year after year hoping that we yield different results. When will the authorities get it? It doesn’t work. More is needed; much more education, enforcement, and elimination of errant drivers is required before we can feel safe on our roads again.
Lets spend some time on this issue. I have this to say.
Educate
Or re-educate as the case may be. Not the fundamentals of how to drive like parking the car and understanding traffic signs but the etiquette and defensive driving skills necessary to keep our drivers alive. In U.S. they teach driving in high-school. We should do this. As for us that have been driving for a while a nationwide re-skilling is necessary. To much hassle you say? Wait until that bike beats the traffic light and run straight into you and you hit the back of a petrol truck as you brake and explode in flames. Hassle? Maybe not.
So the next time we renew our license about three months before it expires we are all required to attend a half-day class on defensive driving and pass a written test at the end of it to secure our license renewal slip. If we fail, we re-sit until we pass.
The nationwide re-skilling would at least ensure the EVERYONE is inculcated with the necessary basics of defensive driving – no more excuses. Once the whole nation is recertified we know for certain that the fundamentals of safe driving on the road is a skill we all have and basic driving courtesy is expected and not an exception.
I don’t need studies to prove this but I know that the longer you drive the better you get. It is a skill just like everything else we learn. I also do not need to check the statistics to know for certain that most of the deaths on the road involving cars are usually younger drivers between the age of 19 to 25. Why? The lack of experience. That’s why. We need to ensure that we penalize the younger drivers and ensure we drive the point home when they commit a driving offence. We need to value our ability to hold a license and also be made to understand that driving is a privilege not a right. This brings me to my next point.
Enforce
Way too many underpaid policemen taking bribes. Seriously our cops will settle for twenty bucks. That is an insult! At least make it look worthwhile. And to make it worst the maximum fine for speeding? RM 300. That is what I pay for a round of golf. Get real RM 300 is not going to cause a dent in most of the drivers out there. To some it is even worth it just so they could take their Beamers or Mercs for a spin. Furthermore, what does it take for you to spend the night in jail for a traffic offence? In California anyone caught speeding over 100mph spends the night in jail. No questions asked. And they patrol with helicopters to catch these offenders. The fine? Upwards to a few thousand dollars. The summons pays for the choppers - talk about return on investment!
Lets get real.
We are not enforcing our laws and we are all at fault. Yes all of us. From the cops that takes the bribe all the way to the errant driver that slips that RM 50 note between his license. Ask yourself this question. Do you have a summon? Almost all of us have at least two or three. Are we worried? No? Why? Because we know it is just money. Pay the fine and off we go on our merry way until one day we end up between a lorry and the divider cursing the “other” driver.
Yes, we are never at fault are we?
Eliminate
It is time we get rid of some of the drivers out there. A major traffic infraction today results in an accident tomorrow. I guarantee it. All speeders will hit something and so do drunk drivers. Today it's just statistics in the news - tomorrow it may be your son, husband, or parents.
Lets spend some time on this issue. I have this to say.
Educate
Or re-educate as the case may be. Not the fundamentals of how to drive like parking the car and understanding traffic signs but the etiquette and defensive driving skills necessary to keep our drivers alive. In U.S. they teach driving in high-school. We should do this. As for us that have been driving for a while a nationwide re-skilling is necessary. To much hassle you say? Wait until that bike beats the traffic light and run straight into you and you hit the back of a petrol truck as you brake and explode in flames. Hassle? Maybe not.
So the next time we renew our license about three months before it expires we are all required to attend a half-day class on defensive driving and pass a written test at the end of it to secure our license renewal slip. If we fail, we re-sit until we pass.
The nationwide re-skilling would at least ensure the EVERYONE is inculcated with the necessary basics of defensive driving – no more excuses. Once the whole nation is recertified we know for certain that the fundamentals of safe driving on the road is a skill we all have and basic driving courtesy is expected and not an exception.
I don’t need studies to prove this but I know that the longer you drive the better you get. It is a skill just like everything else we learn. I also do not need to check the statistics to know for certain that most of the deaths on the road involving cars are usually younger drivers between the age of 19 to 25. Why? The lack of experience. That’s why. We need to ensure that we penalize the younger drivers and ensure we drive the point home when they commit a driving offence. We need to value our ability to hold a license and also be made to understand that driving is a privilege not a right. This brings me to my next point.
Enforce
Way too many underpaid policemen taking bribes. Seriously our cops will settle for twenty bucks. That is an insult! At least make it look worthwhile. And to make it worst the maximum fine for speeding? RM 300. That is what I pay for a round of golf. Get real RM 300 is not going to cause a dent in most of the drivers out there. To some it is even worth it just so they could take their Beamers or Mercs for a spin. Furthermore, what does it take for you to spend the night in jail for a traffic offence? In California anyone caught speeding over 100mph spends the night in jail. No questions asked. And they patrol with helicopters to catch these offenders. The fine? Upwards to a few thousand dollars. The summons pays for the choppers - talk about return on investment!
Lets get real.
We are not enforcing our laws and we are all at fault. Yes all of us. From the cops that takes the bribe all the way to the errant driver that slips that RM 50 note between his license. Ask yourself this question. Do you have a summon? Almost all of us have at least two or three. Are we worried? No? Why? Because we know it is just money. Pay the fine and off we go on our merry way until one day we end up between a lorry and the divider cursing the “other” driver.
Yes, we are never at fault are we?
Eliminate
It is time we get rid of some of the drivers out there. A major traffic infraction today results in an accident tomorrow. I guarantee it. All speeders will hit something and so do drunk drivers. Today it's just statistics in the news - tomorrow it may be your son, husband, or parents.
So for the following traffic offences I recommend a year’s license suspension with renewal of license only upon successfully passing the driving test again.
- Speeding over 150 kph
- Accidents involving death
- Drunk driving
Anyone caught with the following infractions during Ops Sikap should also take a year's break from driving.
- Speeding over designated speed limits
- Usage of emergency lanes
- Reckless driving (caught on camera via helicopter)
- Drunk Driving
Get these people off the streets.
The maximum fine for traffic offences should also be raised to RM 2,500 or a month in jail. The first few months we should publicize the offenders and create a punitive effect for the rest of the nation. Once everyone realize that the authorities are serious they will listen and only then will accidents be really what it is - an accident.
What do you think? I think the relevant Datuk should just get off his butt and do something.
- Speeding over 150 kph
- Accidents involving death
- Drunk driving
Anyone caught with the following infractions during Ops Sikap should also take a year's break from driving.
- Speeding over designated speed limits
- Usage of emergency lanes
- Reckless driving (caught on camera via helicopter)
- Drunk Driving
Get these people off the streets.
The maximum fine for traffic offences should also be raised to RM 2,500 or a month in jail. The first few months we should publicize the offenders and create a punitive effect for the rest of the nation. Once everyone realize that the authorities are serious they will listen and only then will accidents be really what it is - an accident.
What do you think? I think the relevant Datuk should just get off his butt and do something.
