MALAYSIANS are into a perilous habit: beating red lights. They know the immediacy of the danger to themselves and other road users, yet they do it. And not in small numbers, but hundreds of thousands, every year.
What is worse, the numbers are spiking. Last year, the red light beaters numbered 387,084, up from 2022's total of 273,926. And this year — and that, too, only up to August — 293,553 motorists were issued summonses for the offence.
Police data also showed that traffic light violations had consistently remained the third-highest traffic offence nationwide, topped only by obstructing traffic and speeding.
Peril seldom comes in small numbers. The police are rightly alarmed into action, with Federal Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri warning them of a harsher punishment than the current practice of imposing fines.
If all goes well, the police would soon haul the red light runners to court, instead of just fining them.
Some mindless motorists — make that a big "some" — just can't self police, even if their lives are at stake. They deserve to do time.
Motorists with such a dangerous attitude must be taken off the road to keep the rest of the road users safe.
The move by the police to make red light runners pay dearly with their freedom is justified and must be supported by all who care for the safety of road users.
The red light carnage just this year is a co gent argument for the police to want to make such traffic offences non-compoundable.
This month isn't done yet, but there have been three fatalities caused by two red light runners on Nov 16.
In the first incident in Pasir Gudang, Johor, a couple were killed when a car driven by a man allegedly under the influence of alcohol rammed into their motorcycle when running the red light in Jalan Pasar/Jalan Mesjid.
In the second incident, a man was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a car at a traffic light junction in Jalan Persiaran Putra Perdana, Subang Jaya.
Three precious lives lost in just one day because of two mindless red light runners. As if the three deaths of Nov 16 weren't enough, July 25, Aug 8, Sept 23 and Oct 25 added to this year's red light carnage.
But Sept 23 had a tragic twist for the red light runner: he was killed when he allegedly crashed his motorcycle into an SUV in Krubong, Melaka.
Yusri is right. Laws and rules do make our roads safe. But they would be safer still if errant motorists undergo an "attitude adjustment". And we believe that includes the police.
Of late, reports of reckless police escorts becoming a menace to other motorists have begun to make the rounds. As if to confirm this, a dashcam video is doing the rounds on social media of a Nov 16 incident at KM259 of the North-South Expressway.
In the video, a dark-coloured vehicle with strobe lights flashing, believed to be part of a VIP convoy, is seen crashing into a Proton Saga at some speed on a rainy, low-visibility Saturday.
We are glad that the police are on the case. Errant motorists — be they civilians or men in blue — must face the full force of the law.