OP Selamat 8, the road safety police operations in conjunction with the Chinese New Year, is ongoing. With some four days before it is over, the statistics are not good. Not only is there no improvement over previous years, instead the reverse appears to be true. And, the indications are that the accidents are the result of bad attitude on the part of drivers; they refuse to abide by the law. Already, as many as 400,000 summonses have been issued during Op Selamat 8. Naturally, the police are concerned. If the laws in place, replete with consequent punishment for those who break them are not doing anything to deter the errant drivers, something more is needed to bring down the number of road accidents and fatalities, said to be one of the worst in the world.
The police are of the opinion that the current RM300 fine for a standard traffic offence is “kacang”, well affordable. Naturally, according to that thinking, increasing the fine substantially might help change attitudes on the road towards better safety. But, of course, many argue against this, saying that for the unrepentant offender, a fine that is not going to break the bank is very payable. That the police sometimes offer discounts to encourage offenders to pay the fines defeats the purpose. Hence, stiffer fines alone would not deter the offender, but, if coupled with community service, like cleaning public toilets or sweeping dry leaves on the roadside might just do the trick. This should hurt the ego, given that the problem is one of bad attitude. The “king of the road” personality, for example, would surely find the ignominy intolerable. This punishment would, too, help improve the standards of hygiene of public toilets, that is very much needed in Malaysia.
It is well and good to be toying with ideas, but why did the authorities relent to public pressure against the Automated Enforcement System (AES)? Here is a technology capable of catching, on high definition digital cameras, every traffic violation committed within range. Those causing a gridlock because they parked for a substantial time on the yellow box intended to guarantee traffic flow, for example, will have the cameras snapping away and the images sent to a control centre which issues summonses. Having them at strategic points along the roads means that speeding traffic will be penalised. So too, will heavy vehicles driving on the wrong lane, and many other minor and major traffic infractions. But, if the police are correct, and the fines currently applicable do not deter, than the AES must come with heavier fines. Given the level of dangerous driving on Malaysian roads, public protests should be ignored. The point to note is that those afraid of being caught red handed are the culprits who cause the problem in the first place. The law abiding road users, meanwhile, are their victims. Maybe, the best bet is to apply all feasible measures together: stricter enforcement, higher and punitive fines coupled with community service intended to humiliate the recalcitrant offender especially; instal the AES where it is needed; and, increase the level of traffic policing.