W OULD it be wrong to infer that our motorists either do not know about our highway code or, even if they do, are not bothered to comply?
The frequent accidents, mostly occurring due to negligence or not being bothered about other road users, attest to this.
The early-morning accident on the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway last Saturday, which claimed the lives of a couple and their 7-month-old baby, shows how ineffective our road transport authorities are in enforcing the rules and regulations on road users, especially motorists.
The fact that the accident resulted from the alleged cavalier attitude of drivers from a motor association, the Myvi club, also indicate drivers joining such clubs do not understand why such clubs are organised.
Shouldn’t one of the major objectives of these clubs be to inculcate good driving habits and full understanding of the highway code among their members?
Obviously, if the Myvis using the highway early that Saturday morning were racing, all of them were either ignorant of the code or are not at all bothered by the rules and regulations.
Such clubs should not be an excuse for its members to race against one another on public roads as they will pose a danger to other motorists, as demonstrated by the recent needless accident.
A comment on an Internet domain allegedly by one of the drivers of the Myvi that he would not be too worried about what had happened as he knew someone in the police department is most revealing.
It is good that the Road Transport Department (RTD) and the police have since assured the public that they will not brook any nonsense to ensure that the culprits are brought to justice and, hopefully, the courts will subsequently hand those found guilty with the severest of punishments allowed, including banning them from driving for life if need be.
It is also about time the enforcement agencies were more stringent and continuously check lorry drivers, most of whom do not seem to be too bothered by the speed limit imposed on them.
Most never adhere to the limit of 80/90kph on highways — though the stickers are pasted prominently at the back of the lorries.
It makes one wonder whether they are paid incentives by their companies to arrive early at their destination or paid according to the number of trips they make each day.
It is not surprising to see these road behemoths speeding nonchalantly, with some even having the cheek to tailgate cars already driving at the maximum 110kph speed.
What does this show if not the impotence of the road enforcement agencies like the traffic police and RTD to rein in such road monsters.
Rejal Arbee, Shah Alam, Selangor