MALAYSIANS must be very excited and happy to welcome the repeal of the interstate travel ban that eventually allows them to meet their parents and relatives.
Hence, we will see traffic on the roads and highways filled with thousands of vehicles, totally in contrast to the quiet situation during the movement control order (MCO). In this regard, keep in mind that road safety should always be a priority when traveling.
Road accidents can happen anywhere regardless of person, age, and gender. Worse still, accidents can cause loss of life, severe or minor injuries as well as property damage.
Surprisingly, statistics reported that the number of injuries and deaths due to road accidents increased even during the lockdown. For example, the total number of road accidents was 31,155 cases with 299 deaths throughout one month of the MCO (average 1,040 accidents/day).
This is very worrying as accidents are expected to increase with the added number of vehicles on the road.
Specifically, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a 73 per cent increase corresponding to motorcyclists' fatalities while a 17.5 per cent increase of passenger cars fatalities was identified compared to heavy vehicles, pedestrians, buses, and others.
In addition, there was a 90 per cent increase of road accident casualties including fatalities, serious and minor injuries involving e-hailing and delivery riders/drivers and motorcyclists compared to the last five years.
A survey was conducted among our car drivers to assess the driving behaviour with regards to safety indicators (i.e., average driving speed, speeding duration, and aggressive driving) from March to September 2020 during the MCO.
This survey found that many drivers took advantage of fewer vehicles on city streets, by accelerating above the speed limit for an average of 30km/h. Even though with low volume of traffic, drivers are arriving at their destinations faster, there has been a slight increase in the average speed exceeding the speed limit.
The survey also discovered that there is an increase in the speeding duration while driving during the lockdown period. Particularly, a 72 per cent rise was recorded for 1.5 – 2 seconds speeding duration, and an 84 per cent spike for more than 2 seconds of speeding duration while driving. Worse, drivers were observed accelerating aggressively, more than 10 times.
The upsurge of speeding and the frequency of aggressive driving indicated a possible deterioration in road safety which is further reflected in road accident statistics in Malaysia as certain driving behaviours may become the target for government countermeasures aimed at combating traffic accidents.
While safety improvements on road infrastructures and vehicles might take years to see significant benefits, traffic behaviour can be managed and changed considerably quickly if societal acceptability is increased and government intent is strong and honest.
Managing effectively the five primary traffic killers such as speeding, cell phone usage, drunk driving as well as failure to wear seat belts and helmets through police enforcement and big campaigns could be very helpful.
I suggest that road users apply road ethics, among others by beginning every journey with prayer, never be arrogant on roads, prioritising the needs of other users, and good command of communication.
Public safety on the road requires serious involvement by all road users. The objective is apparent, which is to maintain the safety of life and property.
They must obey all traffic rules, and any form of non-compliance should be deemed as violation of the law. Users who drive carelessly causing death and disabilities should be appropriately punished. Road users should always be aware of the fact that there is a need to respect the rights of others on the road.
Normal life and particularly travelling and commuting immediately after the lockdown might bring on stress on Covid-19 transmission. Safe driving behaviour would result in fewer accidents and lead to fewer casualties and injured persons. As a consequence, public health services will not see an increase in patient numbers.
The primary objective during and after the Covid-19 pandemic should be safer road traffic and zero accidents.
The writer is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Perlis