EACH time a roadblock is conducted by the Road Transport Department (RTD), one of the biggest offences is not having a proper licence.
Last May in Kuala Lumpur alone, RTD issued 1,056 summonses during Op Hari Raya Aidilfitri for riding or driving without a licence.
Among the top reasons these road users are willing to prowl the roads without proper documentation is the time frame needed to gain a licence, which some say takes too long. Most of the offenders are motorcyclists.
With this in mind, CBT conducted checks at a number of driving schools to check how long it took to obtain a motorcycle licence. Based on the answers derived, a common time frame would be within three months, however, at least one school in the Klang Valley stated that it would take up to 6 or 7 months to get a B-Full licence. The duration needed depended on several factors, including location and slot availability for a road test.
Just to recap, to get a motorcycle licence (B2 for under 250cc and B Full for above 250cc), a candidate first goes through a six-hour class on road regulations then sit the computerised theory test at an authorised testing centre. The theory test takes about 30 minutes.
The driving school of the candidate’s choice will then arrange for the theory test result slip and other documentation, including a copy of the candidate’s IC and photo, to be submitted to the RTD for Learner’s Licence (L Licence) application. At some driving schools contacted, this process can take up to a week.
Upon getting the L Licence, the candidate will then be able to attend practical training lessons at the driving school. About 16 hours of practice is required by many of these academies before a candidate is deemed ready for the road test. However, RTD requirement cites that road tests can only be undertaken after the L Licence is a month old.
TIME SNAG
The snag in this flow is waiting for the road test slot to be available. What should take a little over a month to complete, ends up taking significantly longer. Most schools facilitate road tests for only two days in each month but upon query, most of the slots for the current month were all filled up.
Thus a majority of driving schools we queried, including ones in Perak, Sabah, Melaka, Kedah and Johor said the process can be completed within two months. Others in capital cities in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Terengganu said it will take between three and four months before a candidate can officially be equipped with a licence. Only a couple of schools in Negri Sembilan and Sarawak are optimistic that the process can be done in slightly over a month.
A riding instructor based in Kedah, Bad Hashim said in theory the time needed to go through the application and test to attain a motorbike licence is only a little over a month, however the slots to undertake road test are limited. Thus the waiting time varies.
“As I am based in Sungai Petani, a town considered not so densely populated, most of my students are able to complete the whole process in under two months,” he said.
“Delays also happen if the student is seen as not competent enough to undertake the road test. While most riders tend to be able to control their bikes after two or three practical training sessions, there are cases in which riders needed more practice before we let them sit the road test. If they have the right attitude to learn and prove adept enough to ride safely, there shouldn’t be any delays,” he noted.
He also recalled that over the years as an instructor, he had met many students who are already savvy riders but delayed taking the formal exam to attain a licence.
“I’ve had a number of students who had been riding the motorbike for over 10 years before finally getting their licence done. As far as I know, these candidates feel money is a bigger obstacle, rather than the time needed to be spent in order to get a licence. However we take this opportunity to educate these students on better road safety practices. In fact, safety aspect is what we emphasise the most during each class, whether the student is a fresh learner or a seasoned biker.”
Tengku Ahmad Marwan Tengku Mahmud, former president of Malaysia Driving Instructors Association (MyDIA) who also runs a driving academy in Sungai Buloh said: “Generally it takes about two to three months to attain a motorbike licence. However the minimum requirement for training currently stands at 16 hours or five training sessions, and six hours of theory classes. In total, that’s about 22 hours. This is not enough. In Singapore, candidates are required to go through 50 hours of riding before they can undertake road test. In UK, about 30 or longer hours is required. So for those who said it is tough to get licence or it takes too long, for me these are just excuses.
“To attain a licence candidates need to dedicate time for training, so that when they handle a vehicle, they would know what to do. It’s not just about reaching Point A from Point B, it’s about reaching your destination safely. So you need to spend time to learn in order to become a competent rider.”
LICENCE AND SAFETY
“There are no shortcuts in educating drivers. The syllabus now is designed to help students pass the computerised theory and road exams. However passing tests alone will not help reduce accidents. I personally feel that awarding riders the L licence, which allows them to ride on the road immediately after passing the theory exam, is not very safe to do. They must go through some hours of practical training first, before being allowed to ride on the road,” said Tengku Marwan.
He added: “If the objective is just to let people own licences, then our current syllabus is enough. However if we want to reduce accidents, we need to beef it up. Theory alone is not enough, our riders need to be equipped with more skills. A lot of crashes happen because riders and drivers fail to detect hazards quick enough. I’d propose the hazard perception test, which can be conducted right after the theory test. This test gauges how fast a rider can detect hazards.”
Previously, there have also been campaigns to encourage riders to get licensed. For example the recent MyLesen programme provides eligible public a chance to attain B2 motobike licence at only RM299. On this Cikgu Marwan opined: ‘When you reduce the price of attaining the licence, do you think driving schools would provide best quality training? I don’t think so. It’s time for the government to think about a better way to produce better quality licence holders, not just on getting them licensed because the law says so. Quality is important for road safety, not quantity. Quantity maybe good for business, but not for road safety, if it doesn’t come with the quality.”
He believes the government first needs to improve enforcement as well as put more effort in enriching public education in order to reduce road fatalities. “We should work on creating road safety awareness among the public, not just licence candidates.”
RTD MEASURES
According to RTD in a statement released last year, statistically those aged 16 to 20 make up the highest number of road fatalities compared to other age groups. At the same time, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook highlighted that the Road Safety Department (JKJR) will focus on advocating road safety among youth and getting the group involved in related programmes. He also ensured that the ceiling price for the B2 Licence remained affordable at RM350.
In its effort to reach out to youth, RTD has set up cadet programmes in schools since 2016. According to an RTD spokesperson, the Kadet JPJ (RTD Cadet) programme is a platform to create road safety awareness among students so that they in turn will become change agents among their peers.
“We are also disseminating information on social media via channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube,” said the spokesperson. On RTD’s official YouTube channel the department’s director-general Datuk Seri Shaharuddin Khalid’s message on road safety is shared while information on regulation is frequently shared via Twitter and Facebook.
As the licensing process is deemed a direct approach in educating road safety, among the department’s main pillars of its Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 is to empower the training, testing and licensing system in order to become more systematic and innovative and at the same time, be conducted with utmost integrity. Another thrust is to remain committed to the enforcement of road laws in order to cultivate a society that obeys regulations as a culture.