KUALA LUMPUR: Michelle Chang will never forget the day crossing a road changed her life.
As the engineer crossed the road in Wangsa Perdana here on the evening of Jan 4, a speeding motorcyclist ran a red light and crashed into her.
She suffered multiple fractures, internal bleeding and blurred vision as a result of the accident.
"I couldn't take any solid food for a month," she said, adding that she had to drink milk through a straw.
Six months on, Chang, 36, is still reeling from the trauma of the accident.
"The first four months were pretty tough. My eyesight is still affected. I have difficulty equalising the pressure in my ears," she said.
She still needs to undergo two more corrective surgeries, including repositioning her jaw.
While Chang is lucky to have survived, many other pedestrians have not. Police statistics show that between 2019 and 2021 alone, 926 pedestrians were killed. In some cases, the motorists were to blame, but there were also accidents caused by pedestrians breaking the law.
Traffic and road safety psychologist Professor Dr Rozmi Ismail of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said research has found that up to 80 per cent of accidents were attributed to human factors. In Malaysia, he said, many road users assume they could flout traffic laws without consequences.
"We have been taught to slow down when approaching zebra crossings, stop at red lights, and not use pedestrian crossings for vehicles to park or pass through.
"However, we still see many of these issues occurring because the authorities are not emphasising enforcement," he said.
On the flip side, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety found that as many as 70 per cent of pedestrian deaths in 2018 were caused by the victim's carelessness. This includes crossing the road at the wrong place and not using facilities like overhead bridges.
Lawyer Mohd Haijan Omar said drivers who struck pedestrians complying with traffic rules could be charged under the Road Transport Act.
If a pedestrian is killed by dangerous driving, the driver faces up to 15 years' jail, a fine of up to RM100,000 and a ban from driving for at least 10 years. Even if the pedestrian is not killed, drivers can be jailed for up to five years, fined up to RM15,000 and barred from driving for at least two years.
Jaywalking is illegal only if a person crosses the road in contravention of a direction to stop given by a policeman or traffic warden in uniform.
However, this does not mean that motorists will not face action.
They could still be charged with negligence, careless or inconsiderate driving, punishable with up to a year in jail and a fine of up to RM10,000.
In Chang's case, her husband Elson Ye says the offender got off scot free as he has yet to be identified.
Car dealership specialist, Ahmad Rizzal, 50, who was struck by a motorcycle last month, still feels the trauma following his accident.
He and the motorcyclist both lodged police reports, but no blame was assigned.
"To this day, my leg is still swollen, and my left rib hurts, so I can only sleep on my right side," he said.
While the injuries will heal, his trauma may not: He now looks left and right "more than 10 times" when he crosses.