LETTERS: ON Zero Accident Day today (Aug 26), we stress that all road users must share the responsibility of ensuring safer roads.
The high quality and accurate road crash and fatality data collected by the police is meaningless unless the government and road users take steps to improve road safety.
Potholes and uneven road surfaces significantly contribute to accidents. Reports indicate that around 60 per cent of federal roads in Malaysia have exceeded their service life and require urgent repairs.
The government must prioritise upgrading these roads and impose stricter penalties on overloaded commercial vehicles, which studies have shown are a leading cause of premature road damage, particularly in rural areas.
In 2008, it was found that 27 per cent of the one million registered commercial vehicles were overloaded, causing roads to deteriorate within the first three years, despite being designed to last up to a decade.
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research has reported that heavy vehicles are involved in 25 per cent of fatal accidents, often because overloaded vehicles require longer distances to stop.
Another factor contributing to poor road conditions is substandard remedial work by third-party contractors.
In 2018, the Public Works Department, Malaysian Highway Authority, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and Petaling Jaya City Council attributed this to contractors failing to meet standards.
Payments to these underperforming contractors should be withheld until their work meets standards.
By the end of last year, Malaysia had 17,244,978 cars, 16,773,112 motorcycles and 1,429,403 goods transport vehicles, as well as 915,494 buses, rental cars and other vehicles that do not fall into these categories.
Heavy reliance on private cars and motorcycles over public transport exacerbates traffic congestion, road accidents and stress.
The rising number of road accidents and fatalities is alarming. It's important to note that reported accidents do not account for many minor incidents that go unreported.
Post Covid-19, there has been a significant increase in accidents, with motorcyclists being the most frequent victims, followed by car occupants.
Road users must practice road etiquette to prevent accidents, which should not be measured solely by fatalities.
Accidents cause trauma, hospitalisation and lengthy legal and insurance processes, none of which is worth it to gain a few seconds on the road.
Developing an efficient public transport system, managed by the government, is crucial.
The success of public transport hinges on four factors: affordability, convenience (including the availability of feeder buses), regularity and punctuality.
Once these are addressed, the government can implement vehicle ownership deterrence measures, such as end-of-life policies for cars more than 15 years old, tolls for passenger vehicles entering central business districts and a two-hour parking rule to prevent vehicles from occupying spots for extended periods.
It's perplexing that the government offers discounts for traffic fines, especially during festive seasons, encouraging traffic violators to wait for these opportunities to settle their fines at reduced rates.
A recent report revealed that 41 million traffic fines, amounting to RM4 billion, remain unpaid by traffic offenders from 1990 to June this year.
Of these, 51,128 fines, totalling RM5.1 million, involve nationals from Singapore, Brunei and Thailand.
Despite discounts, Malaysians owe the majority of the RM4 billion in fines.
Police and the Road Transport Department should consider refusing road tax renewals to those with unpaid fines.
Foreign nationals could be barred from entering Malaysia until they settle their fines.
This can prevent offenders from leaving the country without accountability.
Achieving zero accidents requires prioritising road maintenance, enforcing stricter regulations, promoting public transport and holding traffic violators accountable.
MOHIDEEN ABDUL KADER
President
Consumers' Association of Penang
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times