LAST year was bad for motorcyclists. An average of 12 motorcyclists died every day. It is time for those who are tasked with keeping our roads and road users safe to think deeply about this.
Time to ask why, despite doing much. The answer is that "much" isn't good enough. More like running to a standstill.
Accidents happen when one vehicle is in a place where it shouldn't be. Motorcycles are all over the place, even in fast lanes.
They switch lanes as they please, hoping that the bikes' horns will keep them from harm. They need to be kept in their place.
But the problem is: there is none for them. And so it is hither and thither for them, splitting lanes as they zoom past vehicles on the left and right.
Outside-the-box thinking must begin by considering ways of keeping motorcycles and other vehicles away from each other.
Motorcyclists need to be given a lane of their own. One such proposal — for federal and state roads — was made by the Transport Ministry in 2022.
Two years on, we are still keeping a watch for the space. And after giving them one, other vehicles must not be allowed to steal the space from them.
Look at the blue bicycle lanes in the capital city. They are used by tourist buses and what have you as free parking lots.
To say that enforcement is lacking is an understatement. For sure, motorcyclists have been allotted a lane of their own before, but this covers short stretches.
True, some motorcyclists choose not to use it. Again, this is a question of errancy requiring strict policing.
This doesn't mean that other factors — such as safe vehicles, safe roads and safe speeds — must be ignored.
Making it mandatory for motorcycles with engine capacities of 150cc and above to be fitted with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) from Jan 1 is commendable.
The ABS is known to help motorcyclists maintain control of the vehicle, thereby reducing crashes by up to 30 per cent, safety experts say.
Technology — driver assistance technology, to give it a name — can also help prevent accidents caused when a vehicle is caught in the blind spot of the driver.
Called blind-spot cameras, they set off an alarm when a vehicle gets to such spots, which are invisible to the naked eye of the driver.
Blind spots are one of the major causes of road accidents. Close-proximity cameras, another example of driver assistance technology, are fast gaining traction.
Putrajaya must make it mandatory for new vehicles to come fitted with them from, say, Jan 1.
If ABS can bring down crashes by 30 per cent, so can the two devices, if not by more.
Now for safe roads. There was a time when our roads were said to be of Scandinavian standard, but potholes on highways and byways are putting us in a less reputable league. Cheap materials? Bad workmanship? Poor supervision?
We have come to a phase where watchdogs need watchdogs. As for safe speeds, we are doing good as far as warnings go.
But enforcement needs improvement. If we want to keep our road users safe, we need to try harder.